Dust To Dust
by SlaiteIsCheers
Summary: He stared into blue eyes and saw himself reflected within them. It was a scene he'd lived before. Being ever vigilant, Sasuke knew what he had to do. In an indiscernible motion, his sword was thrust behind him and he felt it penetrate his target. The blue eyes before him stared hauntingly, a distant reminder of his failure. "Sasuke..." - Epilogue Compliant. Time-Travel. Canon-Fix?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own** ** _Naruto_** **and am in no way associated with Masashi Kishimoto. This story is not for profit, and written purely for entertainment.**...Enjoy!

* * *

 _Prologue: Roads Untraveled_

When the rasengan was thrusted towards Momoshiki in that spirit world, the fleeting wonder of what Naruto, his father, had been through in his life to attain such power entered into Boruto's mind before he rammed the immense energy at their assailant.

He didn't realize that Naruto's very essence of who he was could be attributed to the man who sat beside him post battle, both exhausted.

And that was a fact that was very, very important. Even so, Sasuke himself may not have realized what he was saying when he told Boruto that the important fact to focus on was how Naruto became who he was as opposed to who he was currently. Naruto became someone because of Sasuke. Sasuke became someone because of Naruto. Like yin and yang, opposing forces, yet together in harmony. And apart... disastrous.

Boruto made his way to his father and 'uncle', proud of himself and ready to gloat, but he stopped himself when he landed before them and witnessed something rare and odd. His father was grinning widely at Sasuke and the Uchiha patriarch was smiling back at him fondly, as if sharing some sort of secret, internal information that only they understood and they looked happy and fulfilled. Something in Boruto's heart clenched at the sight and he blinked his wide eyes at Naruto. For the life of him, he couldn't remember the last time that he saw his father look that... content. The adolescent's eyes flickered to his sensei, and 'uncle', and found him in a serene sort of glow in their private moment. Unaware to Boruto, it was magnitudes different from where Sasuke's past self had been, but even in his own small conception of who Sasuke was, he could tell it didn't match his no-nonsense demeanor as per regular.

"Naruto, Sasuke," Gaara jumped over and lifted them with the help of his sand, something both men politely thanked him for, and the Kazekage smiled at them respectfully, "Let's go home," and Sasuke agreed lightly and created their portal.

When the group got back it was the regular mess of doting and prodding, making sure that everyone was in one piece, and the boys were taken to the hospital. This time, Boruto paid a little more attention to his surroundings as Hinata struggled along behind him with his little sister and Sarada pestered him for information about what happened. His eyes and ears, however, were focused on Sakura and their fathers.

"Gods, you guys, I swear you will be the death of each other, all the situations you get into," Sakura was complaining while Naruto had his arm wrapped over Sasuke's shoulders and they hobbled along beside their old teammate. It was a picture that had been painted a number of times, but this was yet again something that Boruto was unaware of, "I can tell you went all out, and last time you used your powers like this... well," she looked pointedly at Naruto and Sasuke's arms, or lack-there-of in her husband's case, and Sasuke grimaced while Naruto sighed.

"Well, at least our opponent was mutual this time," Naruto reasoned and Sasuke scoffed as they finally made it to the hospital doors. Sarada must've caught on and stopped asking questions to listen because she was silent beside him.

"Moron, it was mutual last time," the Uchiha said and Naruto squeaked beside him in a childlike manor that Boruto wasn't sure he'd ever heard uttered from his father's lips and his brows rose considerably on his forehead while Sarada quirked a curious one. It's not that she wasn't intrigued, too. She still knew next to nothing about her dad.

"Well you don't have to put it like that," Naruto whined as they traipsed through the hallway, "Even if it was mutually each other," he pouted in his whisper and Sasuke must've smirked because Naruto jut his lip further. Boruto contained his reaction to the information but he felt Sarada's presence stiffen beside him. It wasn't everyday that you found out your Lord Hokage ripped your father's arm off. Sakura had walked off by the time that Naruto had spoken, readying beds, so she didn't have a chance to do damage control, but Boruto heard his mother's intake of breath and cast a wary glance up. The look in her eye told him that she wouldn't do anything, though, and he wondered why. She looked like she felt like it wouldn't matter if she tried, and his brows furrowed as he switched his gaze back to the two, slightly off-center men, realizing that they might be in a world of their own, "Wasn't it you who made the jibe about Momoshiki being the return of ghosts past?" and Sasuke chuckled quietly, making Sarada just about stop walking as she saw her father's head turn to the man next to him and smile openly at him.

"Yeah," Naruto turned and beamed affectionately, either unaware or uncaring of the prying eyes, as Sasuke spoke, but definitely unaware of Sasuke's rising hand until his fingers latched onto his ear and yanked at it and he winced, "I guess I did."

"Boys!" Sakura called and herded them over to the cots, making them lay down and checking them individually. Hinata sat in a chair by Naruto with Himawari next to her, and Sarada tentatively went up to Sasuke, who laid on his cot with his eyes closed, seeming to meditate. Boruto stood back and watched the scene before him, Sakura twisting back and forth between the men with a green glow in her palms. This one day reminded him that his father had a life before being Hokage, and there were years of moments that led up to that fateful position. And there was so much he didn't know. Boruto's eyes scanned from his mother's worried face as she grabbed at Naruto's hand and he smiled reassuringly at her, albeit losing the light his eyes had only moments ago, and then to Sakura who dutifully tended to them, careful in ways like she had dealt with their injuries personally many times, then to Sasuke who lay still on his bed with a blank look, nothing like the energy before, while Sarada sat back and surveyed the scene before her for herself. Their eyes met and they acknowledged their mutual claim to their uninformed, choppy knowledge of their father's pasts, but something else passed between them, and it was the awareness that their fathers seemed far happier in each others presence than anyone else's. Boruto snapped his eyes to his father. He really, really wanted to know what happened to Naruto.

* * *

"Sakuraa~a" Naruto complained as his pink haired friend doted over his injuries for the nth time, "I have work I need to do - Konoha is a mess!" he managed to push himself off the bed despite her weighted hand.

The rest of their family members had gone home for the night, and it left Sakura, Sasuke and a snoozing Hinata in the desolate hospital room. Sakura sighed, knowing Naruto's stubborn nature knew no bounds, and waved her hand in the air defeatedly.

"Yeah, yeah, oka-"

"I have more to tell him," Sasuke cut in, making Sakura's head swivel with a sharp twist and she looked at him mutely, "about while I was gone. Things for the Hokage to know," he clarified blankly and she sighed. _No family bonding tonight, then..._ She smiled a small, sad pull of her lips that didn't quite reach her eyes at him and nodded.

"You boys, always so reckless..." she muttered, and then wandered over to check on Hinata's sleeping form to allow them space to leave. Naruto was the first to hop off his bed, experimentally stretching his hand and cracking his neck, and then Sasuke swung his legs over the side of his own in a smooth movement. With a discrete nod towards each other, they decided they had enough energy and hopped out the window, though not until after Naruto instructed Sakura to take care of Hinata. They glided across Konoha fluidly, reaching the Hokage tower in an amicable silence and propelling themselves in through the window. Naruto surveyed the piles of scattered paper in his office, likely having fallen in the chaos, in the dim light that only the moon provided through the windows behind him and sighed. Sasuke quietly walked to the middle of the room and stood with his back to his friend, looking at the jumbled mess.

"You know, Sasuke, I really hate hospitals," Naruto commented and he heard Sasuke snort lightly, back still turned.

"Not as much as I do," Sasuke's smooth baritone sounded and Naruto regarded the heavy cloak that rested on the man's shoulders with a curious expression, lips pursing a bit before they broke into a small smirk.

"There is no 'business', is there?" Naruto asked suspiciously and folded his arms, leaning back against the desk and watching as his companion slowly turned his face towards him over his shoulder, obviously trying to smother a smile. Sasuke just scoffed and then fully turned, placing his own hand on his hip in leu of folding his arms because... well... "You know," Naruto started again with a weary scan of the room and a sighed, "there is work to do..." he sunk down and slid his heels on the floor until his rump plunked on it while his head rested on the wooden back of his desk, "but there's always work to do," Sasuke regarded the blonde with a subdued amusement, "and I just... I just," Naruto looked up at Sasuke abruptly and raised a finger resolutely, "At times like this, bastard, times like this - they need something!" the Hokage wiggled his finger in the air and Sasuke quirked his brow before Naruto proceeded to, literally, crawl around his desk and produce a few muted bangs before making a noise of victory. For all this activity, Sasuke still stood unmoving in the middle of the room, though his head may have been slightly more tilted to the left now. Hands were thrusted up from behind the desk and they held a bottle of sake like it were a holy object, the street lamps below creating a glowing sheen around it. It was then that Sasuke couldn't help a very small, very short laugh bubble from his throat, pressing his lips together to keep some integrity. Naruto's chin popped above the desk's surface as he separated his hands, one dragging the bottle off to the side, and he looked just entirely worn out, "Sasuke, after a day like today, I need a fucking drink," he stated gloomily, and slightly dramatically, and then got himself up off the floor and produced two glasses from a drawer, "Let's get drunk, bastard," Naruto grinned brightly and Sasuke stared at him blankly, "What!?"

"You're such a loser, Naruto," the raven chided, but strode to the desk anyhow and yanked the bottle from Naruto's loose grip, pouring himself a heavy glass.

"Tch," Naruto rolled his eyes and poured his own when Sasuke had put the bottle down. They cheered their glasses together quietly before downing the glass and pouring a second, as opposed to the proper conduct of sipping. Naruto's blue eyes met Sasuke's own onyx one from above the edge of his cup, and they looked at each other from the opposite sides of the desk for a long moment, "I'm glad you're here, Sasuke."

"I know," he spoke softly and gulped down some sake before looking past Naruto, out the window, "why do you have this, anyway?" he nodded towards the bottle and Naruto grinned sheepishly, a warm glow beginning to invade his cheeks.

"Ah, the old lady was full of tricks, and I learned a few, I guess," Naruto laughed and patted the underbelly of the desk, "she had a great hiding spot right here, didn't tell a soul and it's been a Hokage's stashing place ever since!"

"Well, now I know, idiot," Sasuke admonished, taking another lavish gulp then pulling the cup away to stare at the empty insides.

"Psh, like you'd tell anyone," Naruto sounded confident, "and anyway, I need a drink every once in a while. I have kids that are a freaking hand full, a wife who... well just needs me... a country that relies on me, paperwork that never ends, technology that keeps advancing, traditions to keep strong, and you're never here-" his reasoning became spewed faster and faster until he reached the last tidbit and then he cursed under her breath and chugged down his sake, averting his gaze. Sasuke eyed him carefully, already feeling a little hazy, yet the feeling was oddly comfortable.

"I'm sorry... about that," Sasuke told him, reaching for the bottle again but Naruto had beat him to it to refill his own glass.

"No, no, just don't Sasuke," Naruto topped it off and fumbled putting the bottle down, but Sasuke caught the neck and brought it to his cup, "You're doing what you need to do..."

"Isn't this everything you wanted?" Sasuke asked, not unkindly, and moved the cup to his lips. Naruto tracked the movement with his eyes and frowned.

"Yes," he answered when he realized he waited a moment too long, "this is... everything I've worked towards..."

"Hmn," was all Sasuke said as he finally resorted to just sipping on his cup, and Naruto mirrored the movement with his own. A comfortable quiet fell upon them and Naruto decided to sit on his desk, staring out at Konoha with Sasuke standing behind him, his hand braced on the edge of the wood before he picked up his cup. They had reached the end of their third glass and Naruto let his head fall back onto Sasuke's chest, looking up at him with gleaming blue eyes.

"I wouldn't have imagined that this would be us now, ya know?" he spoke, his words slurred a bit. Sasuke put his cup aside on the wood and looked down at the blonde.

"And what did you imagine?" Sasuke asked sincerely, more rigid tone begotten in the drunken calm he felt. Naruto blinked up at him and suddenly threw his hands back, grasping onto Sasuke's one arm and his torso on the other side.

"I didn't think we'd have blown each other's arms off when I met you," Naruto almost giggled and Sasuke was still caught in the shock of the quick movement and the tight hold while Naruto stared up at him, but suddenly the blonde looked more somber and frowned, "I thought I'd be happier..."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke found himself asking, berating his drunken self, and Naruto's eyes bore into him from below.

"I'm really just... not that happy without you around... it hurts, a bit," he admit and then closed his eyes and sighed, a frown etched deeply on his features. Sasuke leaned down and pressed his lips to the other's forehead lightly before pulling away and sitting on the other side of the desk, himself, halfway turned.

"I know," he admitted and Naruto smiled gently at him, sadly, before they both stared out the window again. That was something. Truly. And it was something completely unique to them, as were many other things, but Naruto noticed. Naruto was the only one whom Sasuke kissed on the forehead, as opposed to poking. It was always in private. But there was something that Naruto could claim was more intimate about it. Although intimacy was always a large question above their heads; where to draw the line. They tended to operate in the gray, and always had. Naruto felt the alcohol in his blood and maybe that was why he acted on his impulses as he wanted, because Sasuke was there, and who knew for how long. He missed his partner. Sasuke always was the missing piece, and he liked the feeling of completeness.

"Sasuke?" he said tentatively, not liking how tired and defeated he sounded, like the years had raged at him, and all he wanted now was to be with his best friend. Sasuke turned and smiled at him, and Naruto smiled back, then the raven leaned in and they placed placed their foreheads against the other's in a tender motion, eyes closing. They should have felt odd that they were more emotionally intimate with each other than their partners. But they didn't. It just felt natural.

They leaned apart and felt dizzy, so decidedly moved to the floor, both on the same side of the desk this time, and gazed at the twinkling street lamps below them, shoulders pressed up against the other's and heads inclined. It didn't take long for exhaustion to catch up and sleep to start invading their weary minds.

* * *

 _Author's Note: Alright... So, I saw Boruto a bit ago and this has been brewing in my mind since. My internal inspiration was something along the lines of the thought 'he pokes your forehead... but he kisses mine...' kinda thing. I also have about, what, over a decade of a blank period to play with (goodness gracious...)? That's a lot of time for Sasuke and Naruto to come to certain terms. Anyway, I mentioned in the description that this will be a canon-fix(kinda?)/time-travel and entirely epilogue compliant story. I'll try, honestly. PS: check out my AU S-duality - if you're into AU's. D2D requires more... data checking and research, so it might lag a bit behind S-duality, but hopefully progression will be solid. Side note: story title inspired by Dust To Dust by The Civil Wars and the prologue title was inspired by Roads Untraveled by Linkin Park. Forewarning; I have a very eclectic taste in music... R&R!_


	2. Chapter One

**Disclaimer: I do not own** ** _Naruto_** **and am in no way associated with Masashi Kishimoto. This story is not for profit, and written purely for entertainment.**...Enjoy!

* * *

 _Chapter One: Hopeless Wanderer_

"Get up," was the first thing that Naruto's weary ears comprehended in his dazed morning cognition. He felt a body move beside him, and away from him, and he cracked his eyes open, "before your _wives_ find you," he saw Shikamaru's wary gaze at them and Naruto yawned with a stretch while Sasuke took a steadying breath to center himself.

"Unnghh, what's on the plate today, Shika?" the blonde muttered while smoothing a hand down his face to ward his lasting grogginess away.

"Rebuilding; meetings with the kages; deciding what to do about the chunin fiasco... same old shit," Shikamaru spoke unamused while Naruto lifted himself from the ground and took a somber glance around his wrecked office, a heat invading his cheeks when he saw the empty bottle of sake and he quickly made a grab at it to stash it away. Sasuke stood next to him and rolled out his shoulders.

"Yeah..." Naruto sighed dramatically, "...Hokage..." he breathed out the word in resignation and looked towards his advisor, "What first, then?"

"A meeting with the kages is set up for a few hours from now. At the moment, you should probably just make some clones and participate in the city-wide clean up. The people need to see their leader, I'd imagine," Shikamaru spoke monotonously and let his eyes rove over the scattered papers across the office. _What a mess..._

"Yeah, okay," Naruto agreed and created a few clones, then turned to Sasuke who had been staring out at Konoha through the window behind them, "Sasuke, what are you going to do?" and honestly, Naruto was deeply curious. Sasuke didn't have a long-term mission anymore... so what would he decide to do? Sasuke barely turned his head to glance at the blonde.

"What would you prefer I do," the smallest of smirks appeared on the Uchiha's features, " _Lord Hokage_?" there was a mocking essence to the term, yet Naruto still blinked at his friend for a brief moment of insecurity then smiled morosely back. It was so odd, where they were now.

"Help where it's possible... and see your family, I suppose?" Naruto spoke unsurely and Sasuke just nodded and looked back towards the window.

"You should see that kid of yours, Naruto," Sasuke words made Naruto's brows furrow lightly.

"I'll tell him 'Uncle' Sasuke sent me," Naruto jibed lightly and Sasuke's head turned sharply.

"I don't need another Uzumaki obsessed," Sasuke said blandly and Naruto grinned sheepishly. Shikamaru sighed and shook his head. The men's odd bond was too troublesome for him.

"Look, Naruto, you should go," Shikamaru advised and he turned on a heel to leave the office, "I'll get someone to clean your office. Hinata is probably home by now," he felt as if he had to remind the blonde, and he didn't turn to see his reaction as he left the room. Sasuke offered a silent nod to Naruto before he jumped out of a window and Naruto sighed. There was always work to be done.

* * *

A month passed without incident. The village was looking better each day, rubble having been cleared and citizens recuperated. There were casualties, but they were kept at a minimum as compared to the atrocities of the past. Naruto often showed his face in public, although usually it was a clone while he sat in his office and had meetings day in and day out with foreign leaders and other important individuals. He did, however, make more of an effort to spend time with his family. It was one such occasion that Boruto stopped by his office and asked if Naruto wanted to go to Ichiraku for dinner with him. The leader blinked at his son for a moment, surprised by the interruption, then smiled and told him that they could do that, and just to give him a moment to wrap things up.

"What brought this on?" Naruto asked idly as he sent a few quick replies to dignitaries via email. Boruto was seated in a chair and twisting a shuriken around his pointer finger, having foregone the gaming console.

"Ah, it's no big deal," Boruto shrugged and watched the star-shaped object rotate, "Just Sarada finally got Uncle Sasuke to hangout and I just figured, eh, you know... It's stupid. Anyway, I just wanted to, like... chill?" the teenager spoke and shrugged again at the end, trying to feign indifference. Naruto glanced up from his computer and eyed his son. It's not that they hadn't been seeing one another regularly. Naruto was always there for breakfast and dinner now, and his relationship with his son had significantly improved. Boruto really seemed to look up to him, along with Sasuke. It always made Naruto want to chuckle a little when Boruto would say 'Uncle Sasuke' with a fondness; it must have been a somewhat odd for his long time friend. Yet, he was brought back to the current moment. Boruto had learned to take the time that he could get with Naruto and cherish it, yet respect his position and not demand for more than what could be given. So, it was rare that the boy come to his office on a whim and ask for some time. Naruto had learned that he should accommodate, if at all possible. Boruto still needed guidance. It seemed that Boruto's request had come at his own volition, but Naruto had a sneaking suspicion that he didn't want to be outdone by his teammate. Regardless, Naruto had the ability to leave early, so he silently shut off his computer and looked towards Boruto.

"Alright; we can hangout," Naruto grinned at his son and Boruto smiled back.

"Cool," he spoke, pocketing his shuriken and standing up while Naruto navigated around his desk and walked them to the door, "Hey Pop," Naruto raised a brow at his son, "Can we... um, can we travel like ninja?" the Hokage resisted the urge to laugh at his son's hesitant question, Boruto's features looking deeply uncertain. It really wasn't proper for them to scamper across rooftops, yet Naruto still had a bit of rebel in his veins and he nearly smirked.

"Boruto," Naruto spoke in his reprimanding tone, making Boruto shrink back, then he leaned down and grinned widely, speaking conspiratorially, "Okay let's go - let's not get caught be Shika, okay?" Boruto beamed at his father and nodded determinedly. The two blondes snuck comedically to a window and Naruto eased it open, glancing sneakily towards the door - Boruto following his lead - and then he waved his hand for Boruto to follow him through the opening and they squeezed through.

"Hah! We made it!" Boruto whispered excitedly on the roof outside the window and Naruto grinned down at his son before he saw the office door begin to creak open. His eyes widened.

"Awe, crap! Run!" Naruto said dramatically while Shikamaru's eyes met his and narrowed in an annoyed fashion. Boruto peeked behind him and saw his father's frustrated advisor, then looked back to see Naruto already jumping to the next roof, laughing. It had been so long since Naruto had laughed, and it felt contagious while Boruto grinned and laughed behind him, running to catch up. Shikamaru could have caught them, or at least he could have caught Boruto, but he didn't bother. He was glad to see Naruto look a little more like himself, for once.

The pair raced across Konoha, essentially giggling all the while, until something caught Naruto's eye and he stopped abruptly, crossing his arms and looking down at the ground domineeringly while Boruto skid to a stop questioningly behind him.

"Naruto," Sasuke's deep baritone reached Boruto's ears and he looked down, smiling at the man and his daughter.

"Sasuke," Naruto spoke amusedly, tilting his head with a grin. The last time he actually saw Sasuke was nearly a month prior, right after the momoshiki debacle. Naruto's blue eyes traveled to the girl beside his friends and he smiled genuinely at her, "Hello, Sarada. How are you?" now she he had seen more often, usually at the door for his son.

"Uncle Sasuke!" Boruto spoke excitedly and jumped down in front of the Uchihas.

"Boruto," Sasuke spoke in his same monotonous voice, but he gazed at the younger blonde kindly. Naruto hopped down beside his son.

"Hello Lord Hokage," Sarada said politely with a small bow, "I'm very well, thank you," she offered a small smile and Naruto nudged his son, peering down while Boruto offered him a scowl at the elbow.

"Why don't you have manors like that?" Naruto mumbled mockingly and his son looked indignant. Sasuke offered a quiet scoff.

"Naruto," the other man spoke, as if that was conversation enough to get his point across and Naruto chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

"Hey, I learned!" the blonde spoke defiantly, then opened his eyes and the two men shared a long, silent gaze. During that time, Sarada and Boruto shared a brief, communicating look, then nodded at one another imperceptibly. They both wanted to learn about their fathers, and they figured that how they would do that would be through Sasuke and Naruto, themselves. There mothers constantly offered noncommittal answers, and it wasn't to their satisfaction. It always seemed like the most was communicated about Sasuke and Naruto by their interactions with one another; so they hatched a plan. Phase one began then.

"Where are you two headed?" Sarada asked Boruto casually and the blonde shrugged.

"Ah, to Ichiraku, grabbing some dinner," Boruto shifted his gaze from his teammate and looked at Sasuke who had glanced down at him, "Hey, Uncle Sasuke, did you guys wanna join us?" he asked carefully then quickly turned to his father, "If that's alright...?" Naruto was looking at his son with a contemplative gaze. What was his son trying to do? Obviously, whatever it was, he was in cahoots with Sarada as she was nodding to the idea.

"Yeah, that's fine," Naruto still eyed his son for a moment, whom was just grinning at him unassumingly, then he let his eyes travel to Sasuke's and could instantly see the same wariness there. Not that anyone else could see it on his stoic expression, but Naruto was well trained, "If you were interested in that," he knew how much Sasuke hated ramen and smirked at him. If he knew his friend, he'd bet that Sasuke would forego his distaste to simply evaluate their children's interactions, because just about everything was a mission to him.

"Hmn, sure," was all the Uchiha patriarch offered with his eyes trained on Naruto before they flickered to Boruto who was smiling at him in an odd way. These Uzumakis... crossed his mind wearily. Naruto nodded.

"Alright, then," he placed a hand on Boruto's shoulder and urged him to begin walking towards Ichiraku. The group of four traveled as a conglomerate through the streets, drawing a few stares from civilians and ninjas who still weren't used to seeing Naruto and Sasuke together again. The curious eyes did not escape both Boruto and Sarada and they took note of the attention. Sarada fell back in step with Boruto.

"Hey," she whispered through the side of her mouth, "I'm surprised," Sarada ebbed her gaze towards Naruto and Boruto shrugged.

"Yeah... it's different now," the blonde boy spoke, eyes on the back of his father's head as he walked beside Sasuke.

"It is, isn't it?" Sarada admonished quietly as she peered at her own father's back. In front of them, both the men's ears were attuned to their children's conversation and Naruto sighed silently.

"What do you think it is?" Naruto asked Sasuke quietly, knowing that the teenagers weren't quite as adept at reconnaissance. The raven haired man angled his eyes towards the blue orbs beside him, and he saw himself reflected in the cerulean.

"I'm pretty certain it's us," he spoke lowly and Naruto's brows furrowed.

"What?" the blonde fought the urge to look at the teenager's behind them, and subconsciously stepped closer to his old teammate to add privacy.

"Boruto had been asking me about you a while ago, but now I think they want to know our pasts for an entirely different reason," Sasuke words were unenthused and Naruto finally turned his face fully towards the other.

"And that would be?" the Hokage was truly a little uneasy about his son digging into his past. Not that he was ashamed, he just didn't want his son to relive the pain Naruto had in his life by the retelling.

"They want to understand us," came the other's simple answer, but it made Naruto's brows furrow more. Understand them... as what?

"Hey, you two are always so serious - leave the work behind!" Boruto called behind them, assuming they were talking about something official and Sarada elbowed the blonde teenager.

"We're here!" Naruto diverted the attention by pointing to the Ichiraku stand and bellying up to a stool.

"Ah, Lord Hokage! It's been a while!" Ayame smiled broadly at Naruto and almost instantly placed his regular order in front of him.

"Yeah, I know, sorry! It's been so busy..." he trailed and lifted some noodles to his mouth before looking at the group of three beside him, "Ah, sorry, yeah, I brought some company!" Ayame looked at them and bowed respectfully. Boruto sat beside his father, Sarada next to him, and Sasuke on the other side of her.

"Hello Sasuke, sir, it's been a long time," Ayame spoke kindly, fond memories of their genin days running through her mind, and Sasuke nodded at her.

"It has," he acknowledged. The teenagers between the men mentally noted that Sasuke used to come here a long time ago. It made Sarada raise a brow. She'd never seen her father show a preference for ramen. That seemed to be strictly the Hokage's forte. The other three ordered a small variety of meals, Boruto the same bowl as his father while Sasuke and Sarada both ordered something plain and low in sodium.

"So," Boruto started after his bowl was placed before him and Sarada's scrutinizing eyes snapped to him, "When was the last time you've been here, Uncle Sasuke?" he tried to ask in a nonchalant manor and Sarada sighed at his obviousness. Sasuke gracefully swallowed what was in his mouth.

"Before you were born," he answered honestly, then brought another string of noodles to his mouth. Boruto eyed him and then glanced at his father with poorly hidden curiosity.

"That's, like, forever ago," the blonde boy deadpanned and Sarada not-so-subtlety smacked him, causing Boruto to whine accusingly.

"Hn," Sasuke offered and Naruto sighed on the other end of the bar. Sometimes talking to Sasuke could be like talking to a wall. He wasn't lying when he told Sarada that her father's social skills were questionable.

"We came here a lot as genin, actually," Naruto provided with a pleasant smile, then slurped up some more noodles and Sasuke nearly glared at him.

"And you eat just as disgustingly, Naruto," he spoke and Naruto narrowed his eyes and slurped up the rest of the noodles with a slapping noise. Sarada wanted to get back on the topic of them being genin.

"You were on the same team, right? Team seven?" she asked, prodding at the noodles in her own bowl with distaste. Boruto eyed his father expectantly and Naruto let his eyes flicker to Sasuke for a moment before he looked back down at the children and folded his arms over his chest subconsciously.

"Yes, we were," he said ambiguously and flickered his eyes back to Sasuke, again, who was staring back at him.

"Trained by Mr. Hatake, right?" Boruto continued, remembering the photo of a young team seven that rested with the rest of their family photos.

"Yeah, that's right..." Naruto's voice came out slightly more hesitant and he shared a look with Sasuke. Where were the kids going with this? Sasuke's eyes scanned over the teenager's heads.

"He must be really powerful, if he trained you both," Sarada admonished lightly and smiled unassumingly at Naruto and then at her father. But she saw it on their faces. The slight disconcertion. There was definitely something that her and Boruto were missing.

"He is powerful," Sasuke asserted firmly, negating any further questions and Sarada began to internally panic. Their conversation was loosing it's footing and she wracked her brain for a topic - any topic - that would get these two stubborn men talking.

"Ah, so, mama said her first kiss was Naruto!" the words tumbled from Sarada's mouth and she looked confused afterwards, wondering why her brain had produced that statement in particular. Boruto spit out his noodles beside her and abruptly turned to his father.

"What!?" came his surprised shout and Naruto looked a little crimson, quick to put his hands up defensively, "Sakura was your first kiss!?" his father turned more red at that and instinctively looked up at Sasuke who was eyeing him precariously.

"Eh, eh, no! I mean, technically I was Sakura's first kiss, but it wasn't anything romantic!" Naruto was quick to amend and waved his hands around, feeling more embarrassed by the second, "Really, it wasn't anything like that!" he continued, feeling very put on the spot.

"You never said who yours was..." Boruto commented suspiciously beside him and Naruto's breath hitched lightly while Sarada had turned to her own father.

"Who was yours, papa?" Sarada asked innocently, still just trying to maintain any conversation of any sort, and Sasuke's brow twitched. A very long, very awkward pause followed the teenager's questions. All at once, Naruto and Sasuke said each other's names and another pause ensued.

"Dad your... such a whore..." Boruto spoke appalled and Naruto's face became a beacon of red.

"The Lord Hokage was both of my parent's first kisses..." Sarada said, mostly to herself, with a perturbed expression.

"Hey, no, so, that one wasn't like that, either! It was an accident!" Naruto was quick to say and Sasuke sighed wearily and placed his elbow on the table to rest his cheek in his palm as he gazed tiredly at the other occupants, "We were twelve-"

"Twelve!?" he ignored the teens outbursts.

"-and this other kid knocked me over while I was glaring at Sasuke and it just... happened... and it... well, it's not like we meant to!" Naruto defended hastily and looked at Sasuke to back him up.

"It was entirely a mistake," the Uchiha added and felt the weight of the teenager's stares on him, but he looked at Naruto instead, "...moron..." he added for good measure and Naruto huffed.

"If you weren't such a bastard, I-!" he paused. There were children present. Naruto took a deep breath and dared to look at Boruto and Sarada, both of whom were a little too enthralled by the topic of their pasts, "Okay, your mom is probably wondering where you are," he told Boruto who gave him a look of consternation, "We should wrap this up."

"It's not a meeting, Dad," Boruto spoke in an annoyed tone, but stood up anyway. Sarada felt Sasuke's hand on her shoulder, and knew that it was an indication that she should be getting home as well. Naruto was about to bid his farewells when Sasuke caught his attention.

"Naruto," his tone was more serious and Naruto peered at him for a moment before he nodded. The teenagers watched the interaction with a piqued curiosity and shared another glance.

"Will you walk Sarada home, Boruto?" Naruto questioned, but it came out more as a demand and Boruto knit his brows together. The blonde boy nodded and Naruto pat his shoulder, "Tell mom that I'll be home later, okay?" Boruto nodded again. Sasuke offered a small smile at his daughter before he turned and walked in the opposite direction, Naruto following shortly after. Sarada offered a weak wave behind their backs.

"Want to follow them?" Boruto whispered to her as their father's backs turned a corner.

"Duh," she whispered back and they took to the roofs. It was the ultimate test to see if they could outwit their fathers. When they caught sight of them again, they saw that they were silently headed towards training grounds and they trailed at a fair distance, trying their best to mask their own presence. Naruto and Sasuke stopped in the middle of a field and sat down, or at least Naruto did, and Boruto and Sarada hid themselves in a tree and she activated her sharingan. All they did was stay there for fifteen minutes in silence before Sasuke finally sat down next to Naruto. Sarada watched their lips.

"Is it hard for you, still?" she spoke Naruto's words to Sasuke and Boruto's brows furrowed. Is what hard? "It can be," she mimicked her father's words, "I know you're trying," Naruto had spoken and Sarada found herself perplexed by the words she was spewing. What were they talking about? "I'll have to ask you to send me on a mission soon... Naruto," she frowned at Sasuke's proclamation, "I know... I'm glad you're here now, though. It's been... a very long time, Sasuke," she watched as Naruto looked up at the stars and Sasuke followed the movement. There was another pause and Boruto was feeling antsy, and he nudged Sarada.

"They aren't saying anything?" he asked fervently and she shook her head.

"They're just... sitting there..." she frowned, not really understanding the way that they were acting. It was very... submissive towards one another. And it was odd. She perked up when her eyes picked up on Naruto's mouth moving, "I missed your presence," Naruto had spoken, and they watched as he lulled his head to face Sasuke, "It's not the same without you, you know," she could tell that Naruto had spoken the words quietly, and somehow what her and Boruto were doing felt more invasive than it had before. This was a private moment, and she began to feel a little anxious, but she couldn't tare her eyes away, "Loser," Sasuke had said, but she saw the fond smile on his face as he turned to Naruto. Naruto smiled back, then lay his head on Sasuke's shoulder, and to the teenager's surprise, Sasuke seemed perfectly content to have it there, "Sometimes, I wish I could come with you," Naruto had said and Sarada again felt that intrusive feeling in her gut again, "You've done plenty for me, Naruto. You owe me nothing," Sasuke said with a frown and Naruto jerked off Sasuke's shoulder and roughly grabbed at Sasuke's chin, turning his face towards his own, "Not for you, bastard, for me! Is it so impossible that I need you as much as you need me?" Sarada felt breathless as the words left her mouth. What was this? Why was this so... intimate? Boruto shifted uncomfortably next to her. "You don't have to say it, but I can tell you that I love you - I always have," Naruto had spoken and Sarada found that her voice came out weaker. Sasuke had given a painful sort of smile, but she saw something in his eyes that she'd never seen before, "I know, Naruto. I owe you my life," Sasuke said and Naruto looked at the other sadly, "I don't want your life, Sasuke..." Sarada felt her heart pump a few beats, "I just want us to be," she could tell he enunciated the word 'be' in a stress, "That's not how life works, moron," Sasuke had said, but it was with that same sad smile. Naruto laid his head back on Sasuke's shoulder, "I know, bastard," This time there was a long silence as the men just stared blankly ahead, unmoving, and Sarada chanced a glance down at Boruto. The blonde teen looked conflicted about something, then he looked up at her.

"They talk so carelessly about love and companionship," he said softly, frowning to himself, "I've heard my father tell people that he loves them; I've heard him claim that he loves Konoha... but this seems..." Boruto trailed desperately, not really knowing what he was trying to grasp at. Sarada finished for him.

"The way they speak to each other, it's like they each carry weight," she provided, still looking down at her teammate.

"Dad doesn't talk to Mom like this," Boruto narrowed his eyes at a random spot in front of him and tried to shift through his memories of his parent's interactions.

"My papa doesn't talk at all," Sarada added unamused, then finally brought her eyes back to the training grounds. She caught the end of a conversation and her eyes widened as she read Naruto speak the words 'stay with me, tonight' and her father's short response of 'okay'. These words she didn't speak out loud. She didn't know how to interpret them. She was old enough to understand what they could mean, but she didn't know what they meant to Sasuke and Naruto. Regardless, she gathered that it was far past the time that her and Boruto should have left, so she grabbed at him and pulled him away from the scene. He only struggled lightly, seemingly in his own mental dilemma, and they quickly went back to their houses when they realized the late hour. Sarada bid him goodnight and hurried into her home, hoping that her mother was working a late shift, and Boruto meandered back to his house. He wasn't worried about his own mother questioning him.

He stepped inside the house and saw Hinata drinking some tea at the table. She smiled at him demurely and he waved at her.

"How was your day?" Hinata called softly and Boruto padded to the table after he abandoned his shoes at the front door.

"It was alright. I got dinner with dad," for some unknown reason, he felt like he should leave the Uchihas out of it. Hinata nodded at the information, still offering him a small smile.

"I'm so glad," she spoke pleasantly, then took a sip of her tea, "Ah, where is... where is your father?" Hinata asked idly, still with an unassuming tone and Boruto gazed at her for a moment.

"He had to work late tonight," he said the words without comprehending. Why did he say that? Was he trying to cover for his dad? And cover what, exactly? He didn't know. All he knew is that he got the vibe that if he told his mother that his dad had wandered off with Sasuke... she would see something that he didn't.

"I see," she looked down for a moment, then smiled at him again, "your sister is already sleeping. It's late, Boruto... You should sleep as well," her suggestion was kind and he nodded at her. Before he turned, he suddenly felt an obligation as her son.

"You should sleep, too, Ma," she blinked at his words, "It is late. You deserve your rest," he said calmly and she smiled at him, putting down her tea. Hinata was proud of her son, and glad that he was growing up a little.

"Okay, Boruto," the woman stood and carried her cup to the sink in the adjacent room, placing it there before following him to the stairs before she turned into her own bedroom, "sleep well," she offered and Boruto gave her a small smile.

"You too, Ma," he watched her disappear into the room, then turned the hall light out and went up the stairs. He loved his mom. She was an undeniably sweet woman, kind and beautiful. He loved his dad. He was a powerful, driven man. For some reason that he hadn't figured out, he compared his mother to Sasuke. Sasuke was powerful, like his father, yet stoic and convicted. Something about him was dark and mysterious, like his aura could drown those that were near him. He had learned that Sasuke was his father's rival... but it seemed like much more than that. Naruto was luminescent and optimistic, where Sasuke was shrouded and blunt. It was almost like yin and yang. The thought made him stop right before he opened his bedroom door.

His mother needed Naruto. Yet, he wasn't so sure that Naruto needed Hinata. He had genuinely never contemplated need as opposed to love before. Naruto loved his wife, and his loved his family, but the way that the man had spoken with Sasuke that night. That was a need. He had needed his rival; he had needed his counterpart. It was... an odd thought. Boruto pushed his door open and gently closed it behind him. He looked at his computer screen and saw that there was a message from Sarada, so he ambled over and plopped in his chair. It read:

 _I need to tell you something. I didn't know how to say it before, but I think you should know..._  
 _\- Sarada_

He blinked at his screen and noticed the message was only ten minutes ago, so he typed back 'what?' curiously.

 _Code: The wanderer is staying with the king as per the king's request..._  
 _\- Sarada_

He read her statement twice before he realized that she was doing what he had done earlier; keeping everything low profile. Boruto wondered if she was as lost about it as he was, but he continued to play the part, a frown etched on his face.

 _Thanks, that will help the next battle in my game._  
 _\- Boruto_

She didn't reply, but he knew that she realized that her message got across. Sarada didn't play games, really. He sat back in his chair and stared at his screen. So, his dad had asked Sasuke to stay the night with him. Now, the thing to understand was that Boruto was a fourteen year old teenager, and his mind instantly went to one place, causing him to shudder uncomfortably. He didn't know what to think about that fact. Boruto loved his father, and he really looked up to both men. In fact, he nearly idolized Sasuke. Yet...

Boruto groaned and sat up, out of his chair. He walked over to his bed and dumped himself unceremoniously onto it, face in his pillow and he groaned again before bringing his chin up as his eyes darted out of the window with swirling emotions.

"Are you cheating on mom with your best friend?" Boruto asked his empty room quietly and frowned at the night sky beyond his window. He wanted to be angry, and two months ago he would have been livid, but now that he'd seen real dangers and now that he'd seen a vulnerable part of his father, and how integral Sasuke was... he groaned for a third time and shuffled himself under the covers. What was he supposed to do now?

* * *

 _Author's Note: First chapter: complete! I'm glad that it seems like this story is well-received! Hopefully I can continue to enthrall! So, yes, time-travel will happen, we just aren't quite there yet... We're just exploring the future a bit before we totally tilt the world off it's axis. All for good reason, though! R &R!_

 _PS: Something to keep in mind: Naruto and Sasuke of Gaiden are more aged, more mature and more somber than that of Shippuden. It makes sense - if you're around thirty-five, it's likely that your view of the world is a bit different than that of when you were in your mid-to-late teens. That, and hormones don't drive you quite like teenage angst. So, *spoiler alert*, we may see the return of angsty Sasuke and Naruto (because, honestly, they are kind of the kings of angst...)... but things will be... confusing... just wait; it's totally worth it._

 _PPS: So, I actually really like Boruto and Sarada, and really don't have an issue with their existence. Regardless, it doesn't negate the obviously ridiculous bond between Naruto and Sasuke. Imagine: Konoha nin being so used to Naruto and Sasuke just being them - Naruto did literally chase Sasuke for years, but then you're put in one of the children's shoes were you know virtually nothing about their pasts other than that they were 'rivals'... that doesn't even begin to describe their complexity, so their relationship must look incredibly anomalous in their eyes._


	3. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer: I do not own** ** _Naruto_** **and am in no way associated with Masashi Kishimoto. This story is not for profit, and written purely for entertainment.**...Enjoy!

* * *

 _Chapter Two: Dear My Closest Friend; Sorrow_

"If you're only here a little longer," Naruto murmured quietly, taking his head off of the other's shoulder, "stay with me, tonight?" he asked his companion, eyes serious as blue stared into deep obsidian. Sasuke regarded the blonde with a heavy gaze.

"Okay," he spoke shortly. He felt eyes on them from the forest. If he were to guess, he would say that it was Boruto and Sarada sticking their noses where they shouldn't. Naruto noticed the slight flicker in his gaze and grinned.

"They're something else, aren't they?" the hokage chuckled, then shook his head, "It's fine; it's not like they can hear us," Naruto reasoned, then stood up slowly, looking down at Sasuke expectantly. He didn't quiet account for the Uchiha's bloodline limit. If he had, their conversation would have likely been shorter.

"Would it even matter?" the Uchiha questioned listlessly as he shuffled off the ground himself, noticing the absence of their stalkers' chakra. Naruto contemplated his statement as he stretched his arms behind his back.

"Hmm, maybe," he shrugged and smirked in an odd way, "I don't know what kind of things those kids would think up," Naruto chuckled again, mirthlessly, and motioned for Sasuke to follow him. The other did so without complaint. They traipsed through to forest at a relaxed pace, finally entering the city when the public was already shut inside of their homes, sleeping peacefully. Naruto walked the path that he remembered, eventually coming upon a run-down apartment in the less posh part of town. It was his old place. He'd still held onto it, if not for anything else then for storage and times when shinobi needed a place to congregate that didn't involve his office or his family home. There was also a part of him that just didn't want to give the place up, yet. It had been a part of him, his loneliness, for so long... and there was every once in a while when he found himself craving the solitude. It wasn't something that he had expected to be keen towards, yet, regardless, it did happen ever so often. Naruto walked up the stairs quietly and tugged a key from his pocket, turning the lock and let himself and Sasuke in.

The place was nothing fancy. All it held was some old furniture and some shelves that held a library of scrolls. Naruto was pretty sure that all he had in the kitchen were some old ramen packages - not that he had any qualms with that, though. The blonde heard Sasuke close the door quietly behind himself, and he was brought back to one of the last times they had been in the apartment together. It had been a long while ago. Naruto didn't bother to turn on the lights as he continued through the apartment, rather he just meandered through the living area and scuttled into the bedroom in the moon's eye. The bed was nothing but ordinary, barely large enough for more than one, but he padded over - his shoes having been left by the door - and fell wistfully onto it, facedown.

"Idiot..." was quietly whispered behind him and Naruto grunted back, too tired to comment otherwise. He felt his hat being dislodged from his neck, a gentle hand guiding it to the bedside table, and then a weight that settled next to him. Naruto turned his head and stared at Sasuke, who was now laid next to him, and he smiled. He was just content to have him there.

"Goodnight, Sasuke," the blonde whispered softly and took one of his arms, caging it over Sasuke's torso. The other looked back with a void expression, but took his own arm and led it up so that his hand rested on Naruto's wrist.

"Goodnight, Naruto," he answered quietly and the blonde smiled before closing his eyes. Naruto succumbed to slumber first, but Sasuke followed in the next hour. They slept peacefully, serenely in the other's presence.

Naruto awoke the next morning to a harsh poke on his forehead.

"Get up, loser," the baritone reached his ears and he complained as he squinted his eyes against the sun.

"Always so mean, bastard," Naruto grumbled as he felt Sasuke's weight shift off the bed, "what time is it...?" Sasuke simply turned the clock on the table towards Naruto and the blonde's eyes widened. They had definitely slept in; it was nearly ten. Naruto jumped into action, snatching his hat from the table and forcing it on his head, "Ahhh, shit!" he exclaimed as Sasuke watched him, the slightest amusement playing in his eyes, "Shika is gonna kill me!"

"That would be treason," Sasuke commented lightly, in poor taste, and Naruto scowled at him.

"He can be scary, you know," he murmured, smoothing out the ruffles in his robe, then he sighed and looked up at Sasuke who was now staring out the window, "Stop by sometime," he told his friend, and Sasuke gave an indistinguishable noise. Naruto stared at him for another moment before he walked out of the room and retrieved their shoes, chucking Sasuke's at him, and put his own on hastily before he went to the window. He looked back as Sasuke was putting on his second sandal, "close the window behind you," Naruto told him before he proceeded to hop out of the indicated window and bounded across rooftops, hoping that he could sneak into his office unnoticed. His wish, however, remained ungranted since Shikamaru was glaring at him from the other side of the glass when Naruto arrived on the roof outside of his office. _It's gonna be a long day..._

* * *

"Hello!" Naruto called as he stepped inside his home that night. He had been determined to make it to dinner since he hadn't come back the previous night. The blonde went about taking off his shoes and walked into the dining room, knowing that Hinata would have had something prepared.

"Hello, Naruto," she smiled at him when he entered. Hinata was just placing his meal before his seat and he smiled back at her, "I hope your day went well," she offered, abandoning his spot to sit at her own.

"Hm, yeah. Lot's of paperwork and meetings, as usual," he waved a hand tiredly and then walked to his own spot, sitting at the table, "Himawari, Boruto, how are you two?" he'd learned to ask. Himawari smiled at him in a demure way, similar to her mother, and said that her day had been enjoyable while Boruto eyed him hesitantly.

"Fine," the teenager said, and quickly looked down at his food with an unreadable expression. Naruto raised a brow at him and poked at his heap of steaming rice.

"I hope you're not too overworked, Naruto," Hinata spoke softly from the opposite end of the table and the blonde man eyed her with a curious expression, "Boruto told me that you had to work late last night," she explained timidly and Naruto blinked. That was what Boruto told Hinata? He glanced over at his son who was poking at a piece of broccoli with a burning gaze directed towards the vegetable with his brows knit together. What an odd thing for him to have said.

"Ah, I was talking to Sasuke last night," he spoke truthfully, not understanding why Boruto had said he was _working_ , and looked up at Hinata who blinked at him with the same blank expression she always had when he mentioned Sasuke. Why was that, anyway? Boruto had looked up at the Uchiha's name with a somewhat scandalized expression and Naruto was beyond confused by then.

"Oh, of course," Hinata said politely as she reached for her cup of tea and looked away. Boruto blinked at his mother and then dared to gaze at his father, whom was staring back at him with a peculiar face. The unspoken question that Naruto had in his head was conveyed - _why did you say I was working...?_ \- and Boruto's cheeks heated up and he quickly looked down at his plate again. Naruto's eyes widened for a moment as he picked up on the cue. Somehow, Boruto knew what their conversation had been last night, and he must've interpreted it- Naruto felt his own cheeks heat up and was quick to tame the fire. His son had tried to _cover_ for him - cover for what, he was still trying to figure out - and he was acting like... acting like... like Naruto was cheating on Hinata! But he wasn't! _I mean... I'm not...!_

 _...am I?_

Could his emotional attachment to his best friend be considered cheating? No, right? It wasn't like they snuck around in alleys or anything. They were very straight forward with their acquaintanceship. So what if Naruto told Sasuke he loved him? So what if Sasuke kissed his forehead? So what if they enjoyed sleeping next to each other? So what if they were the only ones that truly understood the other? So what if- Dear lord, had he been cheating on Hinata? It wasn't like he and Sasuke were screwing. They certainly hadn't done that. Well, there was one time that- he wasn't going to think about that. That had been nearly a decade ago.

"Naruto, are you a-alright?" it had been a while since Hinata had stuttered, so he must've really looked worse for the wear. Naruto blanched and realized that his eyes were glued to Boruto's, who looked equally disturbed. Now, Naruto had to decide: did he address the issue now, or later?

"Yes, I'm fine," he decided and shook his head, offering a grin, and muttered something about how he must've been working too hard after all. The meal continued silently, and a little awkwardly. When they finished eating, Naruto announced that he and Boruto could clean up the dishes. Hinata tried to protest, but Naruto said that it's the least the he could do, being in the office so much.

"...What!?" Boruto spoke irritably when he and Naruto were alone in the kitchen and he had felt his father's eyes on him for the last five minutes as he cleaned dishes.

"I'm not cheating on your mom," Naruto came right out and said it. He never was a poet, after all, and Boruto snapped his head up to Naruto's gaze, appalled.

"Agh! How could you even-! Why would you even-! I didn't ask!" Boruto finally decided and turned back to violently scrubbing a dish. Naruto sighed, pausing in his drying efforts.

"Boruto, I don't know why you said-"

"No, you don't," the teen muttered darkly, hands gripping tighter on the dish in his hand, "but I know everything you said," Boruto tacked on and the kitchen was silent for a long moment.

"It's not... It's not like that, Boruto," Naruto spoke tiredly. He didn't want to have to explain this. And, frankly, he didn't understand why he had to. Naruto and Sasuke were just Naruto and Sasuke. But, then again, Boruto didn't know them as 'Naruto and Sasuke', but he knew them as 'Naruto, his father, along with his estranged uncle, Sasuke'. Naruto mulled inwardly that the world probably was very different through his eyes.

"You seemed close," Boruto placed his dish on the counter and yanked another to clean harshly, "You asked him to stay with you. Where did you even go!?" on the last word he turned his face to look sharply at his father and Naruto stared back at him, undaunted.

"We _are_ close," Naruto spoke, as if it were a given, "and yes, I wanted to stay with my best friend; it's been too long since he's been around," he conveniently left out his old apartment. He didn't need his adolescent kid knowing about an abandoned apartment on the other side of town. Boruto did seem close to Sarada these days...

"They guy has been gone for, like, twelve years or something - how could you possibly be close?" at Boruto's question Naruto lamented. His son didn't, and wouldn't, understand. And why would he? He hadn't been there through their trials. Sasuke just simply was the entirety of Naruto's youth. That was fact, "You acted like... It was just weird, dad! I don't know, you said you loved him, and it's just- I don't understand!" Boruto spoke in a rush and averted his eyes, not knowing wether to be angry or awkward.

"I do love Sasuke," Naruto commented casually. It wasn't odd to love one's best friend, "And I love you, and I love Himawari, and I love Hinata, and I love Sakura, and I-"

"It was different!" Boruto cut him off angrily and Naruto stared. It was different? Of course it was different! Sasuke was-

...He just was. And that was all that mattered. Naruto just wanted Sasuke to be. Naruto was about to open his mouth when Boruto continued, a frustrated heat on his cheeks.

"I don't know wether to be angry at you, or just sad for you," that wasn't what Naruto had expected from the teen's mouth and he slowly closed his jaw. _What...?_ "It's like you... you..." Boruto looked away and muttered the last bit, "like you need him, or something..." and Naruto actually laughed at this, causing Boruto to look back, wide eyed. The hokage smiled fondly with a morose grin.

"I do need that bastard," he admitted resignedly and Boruto's brows furrowed, "I need Sasuke like I need my own damn beating heart," Naruto said, more to himself than anything else, and saw that Boruto was about to protest again in his confused rage, so he shook his head, "Maybe it's time... that I told you a story..." Naruto wouldn't tell the whole story, but enough for it to make sense. He decided to explain that he and Sasuke were reincarnated brothers from the dawn of the hidden nations, bound by fate and attributed to yin and yang. It was only together that they took down Kaguya, the propagator of the disaster they most recently dealt with, and Boruto listened with a tense interest. He explained in simple terms that both he and Sasuke had suffered to get where they were now, but that neither would have been standing there, as they were, without the other.

"Uncle Sasuke is... your other half..." Boruto said softly at the end, something dawning inside of his mind, and he stared at the soft expression his father had.

"Yeah, something like that," Naruto commented and dried the last dish, placing it on the rack.

"You love him," it wasn't so much a question as it was a statement and Naruto looked at his son in a baffled amusement.

"Of course I do," he said, as if it were obvious, and Boruto stared at him, feeling something in his gut sink. It wasn't because his dad said he loved Sasuke, either, "Sakura does even more, though; she just adores him," Naruto laughed as he imagined his friend's genin antics, but Boruto frowned.

"I don't believe that," the teenager's voice was flat, and Naruto blinked and looked down, surprised, "How can you love someone if you don't understand them?" it was a profound statement from a kid of Boruto's age, and Naruto found himself shocked to silence. Boruto was inwardly thinking of his own mother. Did she understand Naruto? It was so clear in Boruto's eyes, someone who hadn't grown up accustom to Naruto and Sasuke's odd relationship, and he wondered if everyone else they had aged with was just so conditioned that it wasn't obvious. He was mad at Naruto, but he hurt for him at the same time. His dad was so stubborn... stubborn enough to not pursue his own happiness in the name of honor. He didn't know what to punch, but he felt like punching something, for sure. "You're so _stupid_ , dad..." Boruto settled on grounding out and Naruto growled.

"Hey, kid, don't-" Naruto was cut off by a tremor that rocked the ground. Instantly, he went into hokage mode and dashed to the front door, jumping up to the roof. Boruto was right behind him and Hinata soon after.

"Naruto, what is-!" another tremor cut off Hinata's question and Naruto quickly informed them that he was going to the hokage tower. He darted across rooftops and stood on the roof, surveying the entirety of Konoha, but saw nothing that explained the sensations. Within seconds, Sasuke was next to him and they stared at the horizon, squinting. A boom made their eyes snap open and their pupils were wide, briefly incapacitated by the site before them. At the edge of the village, a black, sparking mass of energy was obliterating _everything_. Naruto and Sasuke stood steady and Shikamaru came rushing through the doors off the office, slipping out of the window with Sakura shortly after.

"What is-" Sakura cut off, staring terrified at the gaining void.

"Mother!" Sarada spoke as she came into the room behind them, Boruto quickly flanked behind her, her eyes swirling red, "What is that?" she asked, panicked.

"I think it's..." she began, recognizing the flow of that power before her, watching as Konoha was devastated; again.

"Otsutsuki," Sasuke spoke deeply, gaining his composure after feeling soberness sink back into his bones, "the rift must have caused some ruckus and led them here," Naruto looked over, feeling dread deep in his stomach.

"You mean... _we_ led angry demi-gods to our dimension?" Naruto asked lowly in a quick whisper, "There were more Otsutsuki?"

"I suspect there are more in their realm, yes," Sasuke drawled, and they all stood frozen for a moment while the city jumped into action below them. Shinobi flying around to save civilians and fight back where they could. A shockwave rolled through the city and shattered the windows behind them, Sakura moving to protect Sarada while Naruto stood strategically before Boruto. The devastation was phenomenal, and Naruto could see multiple figures beyond the looming energy. It had been hard enough fighting one, and he knew that Sasuke and himself were still recovering, and if they fought here then it would bring even more devastation... but what were they supposed to do? This wasn't... a good situation. Naruto glanced to the side and saw that Sasuke must have come to a similar conclusion, then looked behind him and saw that Sakura was holding back emotions and Boruto was looking at him, as if waiting for direction. But, the look on Naruto's face made Boruto falter and Naruto cursed himself, forcing a smile. Yet that seemed like the wrong thing to do, maybe too reminiscent of that previous, fateful day, because Boruto looked stricken.

"Dad...?" he said, a little strangled, and Naruto swallowed while Sakura closed her eyes and her hands unconsciously tightened on Sarada's shoulders. Naruto stared at his son. He really wanted to watch him grow into the amazing man he knew he would be. It just... wasn't meant to be, was it?

"Boruto, I want you to keep throwing those disappearing rasengans like your sensei taught you, alright?" Naruto grinned at his oldest child. Boruto silently nodded, but tears began to pave down his cheeks, "Sakura..." he turned to her and she opened her glassy eyes to him and he flinched at the look, sadly, then glanced to the man by the door, "Shikamaru..." the man already had a cigarette in his teeth a dragged a heavy puff.

"Go save the world, Naruto," he said with a bitter, sad amusement and Naruto scoffed at him. He turned his eyes back to Sakura and she had finally stood up, looking at Sasuke. Naruto followed her gaze. Sasuke was sharing a stare with Sarada, then he leaned down and poked her gently on the forehead with a small forlorn smile, to which the girl sniffled roughly and tried her best to hold Uchiha composure. Sakura looked between both of them and a sob escaped her, then she drew her gaze to Naruto and Sasuke.

"I love you two idiots so, so much," she told them, and it was when she said that that - if the two kids hadn't already - Boruto and Sarada finally understood what all this meant. Sasuke and Naruto weren't coming back. And they knew it.

"...Dad...?" Boruto said again, this time more broken and quiet and Naruto fought to keep his emotions down. Now he really was losing the family that Sasuke had talked about; it hurt like hell. Naruto smiled at him, an explosion shaking the building in the background.

"Take care of your mother and sister, Boruto; let them know I love them," he said and Boruto immediately tried to step forwards, but Shikamaru grabbed his shoulder roughly, "You've done great... I couldn't be more proud of you," he added, watching tears stream on the teenager's features. This was his duty. He had to go.

"I'm sorry, Sakura," Naruto heard Sasuke say, pained, to their old teammate next to him. Naruto felt wetness streak down his cheek and rubbed at it roughly with a curse, then felt Sasuke's hand fall heavily on his shoulder. It was time to go. Boruto was struggling against Shikamaru's grip and Naruto sucked in a hard breath, turning away from the painful sight of the people he loved. People he loved, knowing that he and Sasuke were about to sacrifice themselves. Because there was no way that they would make it out of this alive.

They jumped out and onto rooftops, towards the imminent danger, and passed familiar faces as they ran. There was even a point where they passed Kakashi and he gave them a sad look, resigned in nature. Everyone they passed knew. It would be the last they'd see of the duo. Naruto couldn't help but bitterly think about how he told Sasuke that he would die with him when they were teenagers. At the time, he thought it would be very different circumstances. Naruto activated his sage mode and drew from the fox's chakra, who gave it with encouraging words, while Sasuke started forming his Susanoo around them and they formed into a mass being, encroaching on the black mass, and swiped through it.

"Give it everything, Naruto, till the end," Sasuke instructed beside him in their glowing being. Naruto glanced over and nodded.

"Yeah," was all he said, then frowned, "hey, Sasuke?" the other man looked over briefly, "I'm glad I'm not alone," _I'm glad I'm with you_ he was saying, and Sasuke gazed at him with a somber expression.

"Yeah," he mirrored the other's statement, and then steeled himself.

"I'll see you in the next life, Indra," Naruto joked as he stared at the four Otsutsuki beyond the black rift. Sasuke snorted.

"Yeah, see you, Ashura," and that ended their conversation as they darted forwards as one, slashing and punching and forcing sheer power against their opponents.

It felt hopeless. Behind the void of the Otsutsukis' power there were countless shinobi trying to send attacks at a range, but Sasuke and Naruto were the only ones that could even get close. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's hand beside him and the message was clear: it was time to use the whole arsenal; it was time to be done. Naruto began to form a massive rasengan while Sasuke's body flared with chidori next to him. They transferred the powerful energies to each of their shadowy giant's hands and jumped high into the air, hoping to gain a clearance on Konoha. As predicted the Otsutsukis were lured into the air behind them and then Sasuke and Naruto slammed their hands together in a swift action when the demi-gods were in range. This was it. Their job was done. The energy imploded from the outside-in, and Naruto and Sasuke had a few quiet moments to see that the enemy had been obliterated and they were left in a stunning white void together. Dry tears escaped Naruto's eyes and Sasuke tightened his hold on their interlaced hands, then came to rest his lips on Naruto's forehead. _I love you._ Naruto felt the words mouthed and a choked sob came up his throat. The words that his son had thrown at him earlier began to make more sense and he finally admit it to himself, internally. _I'm in love with you; I always have been..._ He lifted his head in a rash action and kissed the other roughly, for the last time.

Then something happened.

The force of their attack was closing in and their time was fading. Their chakra was gone and their bodies battered from the harsh energies, but Sasuke felt a rush of something in his veins from... Naruto? It felt like the fox kicked into final gear and his mind worked quickly while Naruto seemed very intent on letting Sasuke know how he felt via lip-lock. Sasuke would have rolled his eyes in a different situation. He wracked his brain, but time was running out, and the other thing that he could think of... he hastily activated whatever power his rinnegan had left and tried to manipulate anything in space-time that he could. In his exhaustion, and with the blonde clinging to him, his mind felt cluttered and he couldn't keep anything straight. Then, the energy imploded and he felt a pull at his soul and he held onto Naruto tightly, because despite whatever efforts he'd just made, this could still be it.

Down below, in Konoha, a crowd of ninja looked up at the sky where the universe itself seemed to have exploded and left dust settling in it's wake. Sakura tried to look into the area desperately for any sign... but she knew there would be none. On a small scale there was nothing left of their arms, so on a large scale... and she couldn't recreate them; not like she did with Naruto's arm. Boruto was beside her on his knees, face in his hands and sobbing silently, while Sarada stared with watery eyes at the sky. Her sharingan hadn't settled yet, and clouds of dust wafted in her vision, and then a glint of something caught her eye and she gasped. It was small, but it had been there.

"H-hey," she spoke, causing Sakura to turn weakly towards her daughter, then look concerned at the determination on her face, "I..."

"Oh, gods, your eyes..." Sakura sobbed out, and Sarada looked at her widely, a little scared.

"What?" she asked a little hesitantly and Sakura hung her head.

"You're so young... even before Sasuke..." Sakura looked back up at her daughter who had three tomoe spinning wildly in each eye and frowned, "I'm... I'm so sorry, Sarada," she spoke softly and Sarada furrowed her brows as Sakura began to reach out.

"Stop!" she said suddenly, and stomped a foot, making even Shikamaru - who had traveled to their spot on a rooftop to check on them - look curiously at the girl, "You're not listening!" Sarada breathed in the silence and looked at Boruto who slowly lifted his head, "I saw something... I think... they..." she really wanted to be sure before she gave hope to a claim like this, but seeing the pleading gaze that her teammate gave her made her continue, "I think they tried to warp... somewhere..." she finished, and not really knowing what she was talking about, she looked to the adults for help. Shikamaru looked at Sakura and she looked back at him, a little too eager to hold onto that possibility.

"...How?" Shikamaru thought out loud, then glanced to the sky, asking Sarada if she was sure - to which she now adamantly responded a firm yes - and he furrowed his brows, "...or... where...?"

"Their chakra should have been... would have been totally depleted," Sakura stated, falling into her medic mode, "the only way-"

"The kyuubi?" Shikamaru still glared at the sky, as if it held the answer, and then grabbed a cigarette and lit it, "They'd be highly unstable, though. If Sasuke tried to to anything... it could have been... troublesome..." Sakura looked up at the sky, too, and felt Boruto stand up.

"So, Dad might be... alive?" he asked roughly, but received no answer. They weren't sure, "If... if he were... Sasuke... last time..." and something connected in his brain, and it was a thought that Sarada voiced.

"Can anyone else use space-time jutsu?" her question met a short silence before Sakura answered, fatalistically.

"No, not anymore," and they all turned to the sun peaking through the dust, and the same thing traveled through each of their minds. _Did you make it?_

* * *

 _Author's Note: Ah, and now the real story starts :3 ... though, their future (past?) may not be entirely irrelevant. Sneaky, sneaky! So... the next chapter I've literally re-written about five times now. It was really difficult to decide exactly what time to go to. Anyway, before I give too much away... though, quick note. For the purposes of this story, I rewatched portions of the original series and... I totally forgot how annoying both Naruto and Sasuke had been in their youth! Oh my gosh. For example, Sasuke used to make all these flippant comments and talk massive amounts of shit in battle... haha, it was pretty funny, honestly. And Naruto -_- ... oh, poor Naruto... Ahem~ as it is, I hope this chapter was enjoyable! _

_Note: chapter title inspired by Flyleaf songs. I forgot to mention that the previous chapter title was inspired by Mumford & Sons, too. _

_R &R! Till next time~!_


	4. Chapter Three

**Disclaimer: I do not own** ** _Naruto_** **and am in no way associated with Masashi Kishimoto. This story is not for profit, and written purely for entertainment.**...Enjoy!

* * *

 _Chapter Three: Part II; Renegade_

 _Drip._

 _Drip._

 _Drip._

Everything was black. Everything hurt. He tried to move and found his muscles wouldn't budge.

So tired. He was so tired. Maybe he would just sleep... for a while...

* * *

Sasuke was excited. He was overjoyed to come home and tell his family all about his day at the academy. Yet, when he got to his district, it was death and devastation that he found. In terror, he called out to his brother when haunting red eyes reached his. To Itachi's surprise, when he aimed his genjutsu it was as if he was looking back into an even more powerful sharingan. He and Sasuke were pulled into a dark limbo, the small child shaking and sobbing on an unseen floor, and Itachi hesitated and looked around at the all consuming void. There were eyes that watched him behind Sasuke; one mangekyo and one rinnegan. Itachi stared at the misty eyes with a grim fascination, not understanding why such a thing had occurred, yet he acknowledged that while whatever force resided in Sasuke was present, he wouldn't be able to throw him - and it - into a genjutsu. He drew out, his sharingan flickering away, and stared at his small brother for a long moment, wondering what he had been overtaken with. In lieu of what he had planned, he still had a vendetta and he forced himself to say cruel words to his beloved sibling. Sasuke cried and lashed out until he passed out from shock, and Itachi glanced back once more with a pained expression, leaving the child to live in a gloomy shadow, hoping that whatever it was that possessed him would help him endure. It was another thing for Itachi to tack on to his tasks: figure out what happened to Sasuke.

* * *

Sasuke sat at the water's edge on a dock. Sometimes, when he looked at his reflection he would see another man staring back. One who was much older than he, and stood stoic and somber. When Sasuke would reach out and touch the water it would ripple, and his true reflection would return in it's wake. He didn't understand. And it bothered him. Was it a ghost of an Uchiha? Haunting him? Taunting him? He didn't know. Then again, he wasn't sure he believed in ghosts. If he did, he'd have barely been able to stay inside his district. He sat and stared out at the water, reflecting the setting sun, until he felt eyes on the back of his head and he frowned and glanced back. It had been that blonde kid; Naruto. He always passed him here. They blinked at one another, then stubbornly looked away, yet Sasuke couldn't help the small smile that ebbed on his features. They were both alone, together, yet still so far apart. Even so, something about the kid made him feel... better. He watched the sun as it melded into the water's edge. He decided that the sun was pleasant.

* * *

"Alright boys, make the seal of reconciliation," Iruka told them tiredly and the adolescent children glared at one another with a fierceness. All of their classmates watched in quiet anticipation at the scuffle.

"No! He doesn't deserve it!" Naruto yelled obstinately and Sasuke continued to scowl at the other.

"Boys," Iruka tried again, and watched as the last Uchiha tilted his chin up in disrespect towards Naruto's form and he sighed. Naruto continued his grumbling rants and Iruka shook his head. Hadn't it been just earlier that he saw Sasuke offer Naruto some of his food? These boys were such a hassle.

* * *

"Sorry kids, your sensei should be here soon," Iruka apologized to them cordially, then left them to their own devices as they waited on their assigned instructor. Sakura idly complained about whomever their elusive sensei was, deploring their untimeliness, and Naruto agreed with her in tantamount. Sasuke glanced at the clock and frowned. _Another hour._ his mind provided and he furrowed his brows. Why would he assume it would take another hour? Though, he was one to typically follow his instincts, and he stood quietly, drawing the other two's gazes to him.

"Ah, Sasuke! Where are you going?" Sakura asked, a starry-eyed gaze in her green irises, and Sasuke flicked his eyes to her. He felt some odd connection to her, and he couldn't describe it, yet her annoyingly shallow attachment had to come to an end. It was unbecoming.

"He won't be here for at least an hour," he said blandly and Sakura tilted her head while Naruto's brows fell.

"He won't? How would you know!?" Naruto's rambunctious question led Sasuke to frown and shrug, avoiding the wide blue eyes that made him distinctly uncomfortable.

"I just do," he muttered and turned around so that his back faced them as he began to make for the door. A hand landed on his shoulder.

"Bastard, what kinda response is that!?" Naruto's shrill rebuttal made Sasuke grimace and he looked over his shoulder with annoyance.

"A true one, let go, loser," Sasuke shrugged his shoulder away and Naruto huffed and folded his hands over his chest with pursed lips. Sakura stood up and pushed Naruto away, gazing deeply at Sasuke and the Uchiha inwardly groaned, cursing whomever decided to put him with these idiots.

"Sasuke, would you like me to come with you?" Sakura smiled shyly at him and he stared blankly, making her falter, "Um... to... wherever you're going?" she tried and Sasuke blinked at her. Why did he feel like Sakura was so much more _intelligent_ than this? Why was she acting like a flimsy damsel? He scowled.

"No, stop asking. I'm not interested in you trailing around after me," he spoke coldly and Sakura's eyes widened and she looked away, ashamed. Naruto growled and threw a punch Sasuke's way, which he easily avoided.

"Why are you such a dick!? She's just being nice!" Naruto yelled and threw another punch. Sasuke ducked that one too, then put his hands in his pockets and gazed at the seething blonde with distaste. He didn't like how incompetent he seemed, either. It just seemed _wrong_.

"She's being desperate. I'm not interested," Sasuke reiterated and Sakura seemed to shrink away further. Naruto growled again and Sasuke groaned in annoyance, "What's wrong with you!?" he hissed out angrily, not liking how his mind was skewing the situation to seem out of place and Naruto looked surprised, then just peeved.

"What the hell is wrong with _you_ , bastard!?" the two stared at one another with an intensity and Sasuke was the first to look away, a broody expression on his features. He left without another word.

When he returned, he was right outside of the classroom door when something stopped him. Something in the back of his mind gave him the notion that walking in that way would be a bad idea, so he turned around and started to head back through the hallway to enter through a window when he ran into a man with gravity defying silver hair and a slanted forehead protector. Undoubtably, his sensei. He eyed the man blankly, then shoved his hands in his pockets and walked around him.

"Yo," the man called out, amused by Sasuke's motions, "where are you headed?" Sasuke didn't even glance back.

"I'm going in through a window," he called out, turning a corner, and Kakashi ambled after him leisurely.

"That's a little odd, don't you think?" Kakashi smiled under his mask at the peculiar behavior and Sasuke pushed the front door open to step outside.

"I'm a ninja; it's pretty normal, actually," Sasuke muttered and Kakashi watched the back of the Uchiha's head and chuckled. They reached the side of the classroom and Sasuke slipped in, unnoticed, as Naruto was eagerly peering at the rigged door and Sakura eyeing the blonde with discomfort. Kakashi raised a brow at the scene, then jumped in himself, glancing at the raven haired boy who looked at his teammates with a scowl. There's no way these fools would pass his test.

"Ahem," Kakashi cleared his throat and Naruto and Sakura turned around with looks of terror, then Naruto's gaze traveled to Sasuke with a scrunched nose, "Yo! I'm your sensei," he announced and Sakura greeted him politely while Naruto predictably spoke out.

"Why are you so late!?" the blonde pointed a finger and Kakashi stared at it, already becoming weary. Sasuke eyed the man with a calculating gaze, arms folded.

"Ah, you see, I got lost on the road of life, and-"

"Road of- road of- ...what...?" Naruto deflated slightly, then folded his own arms indignantly, narrowing his blue eyes. Kakashi roved his eyes over the three and then sighed lightly.

"Let's go outside," he commanded and then slipped through the window, not waiting to see if the others followed. Yet, they did. They found themselves on a stone stoop and Kakashi gazed down at the three of them, "Well, where to start... Introductions... what are your dreams? Your likes and dislikes?" Kakashi's eye fell on Naruto, "Let's start with you, hm?" Naruto grinned.

"Well, I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like - no - I love ramen, and anything that has to do with ramen, especially Ichiraku's! and I dislike-" he cut off and looked away confusedly for a moment, then looked back with a grimace, "Ah, the three minute wait for the water to boil... and my dream is to surpass at the... previous hokages!" Naruto closed his eyes and grinned and Kakashi eyed him for a moment before moving his gaze to the next kid.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha," the youth spoke monotonously with his fingers folded before his face, "I dislike many things, and like very few," Kakashi inwardly sighed at that, _this kid... seems so serious... he reminds me of someone. Oh, yes, myself..._ he inwardly deadpanned, "I don't have a dream... I have an ambition... I want to-" _kill a certain someone_ , he tried forcing out, but the words wouldn't come. He paused and glared at the ground, "I wish to avenge my clan," he cursed himself for his weakness and ignored Naruto's questioning gaze beside him.

"Hello!" Sakura started beside Sasuke, "My name is Sakura Haruno! I like - uh, I like..." she trailed as he mind recollected Sasuke's words earlier and she frowned, still hurt by the cold bluntness, but blushed all the while "I like... uhm..." she bit her lip and looked away, "I dislike... feeling excluded," she decided, remembering times when she felt like she fell behind and distinctly remembering the sting it left on her heart, "and my dream is..." she glanced at Sasuke with a heavy blush, then forced herself to remember the classroom and glumly looked away, "...I think I'm still figuring that out - I'm sorry, sensei," she looked at him with an embarrassed, apologetic smile and Kakashi just nodded at her.

"Alright, so, here's the deal, tomorrow-"

"Hey!" Naruto cut Kakashi's instructions off, "What about you, sensei?" he cried out and Kakashi sighed. This child... was so disruptive...

"You don't need to know my likes, and you don't need to know my dislikes," he spoke as if he were telling them important information and Naruto's jaw was slowly dropping, "Furthermore, you don't need to know my dreams. Meet me at training ground four tomorrow at eight - and don't eat breakfast!" he called cheerily, then disappeared in a poof and all three children stared at the spot in astonishment.

"What the hell!" Naruto's voice rung out and Sasuke sighed and stood up.

"Bye," was all he said and then strode off, away from his team members.

The next day ended with Naruto tied to a post and Sasuke reluctantly offering some of his own rice, feeding the blonde idiot with his chopsticks. They passed the test.

* * *

It was their first mission that didn't involve chasing a cat or painting fences, and team seven was excited for the change. They were headed to the land of waves, and they had traversed into the misty elements for quite some time now. When their first encounter with Zabuza left them spooked, they quickly determined that delivering the client as fast as possible was the best action available. They continued on, and finally came into conflct with both Zabuza and Haku. Kakashi was devastated when he was separated from his three genin, trapped inside Zabuza's hold, and Sasuke and Naruto found themselves in a mirrored dome, held captive by Haku. Haku sent needle after needle at them, leaving the boys weary and exhausted, and when Naruto took a hard hit and was knocked out, Sasuke's eye's flashed red... and purple. Haku was speeding towards Naruto and Sasuke flashed before the blank space between, glaring up at the enemy nin, trying to fight off his wooziness and the pounding behind his eyes. When Naruto came to, Haku was crumbled on the ground, shaking terrified, and he saw Sasuke standing before him. He congratulated Sasuke and his eyes traveled up, then he realized that something was wrong as Sasuke fell back and Naruto reached out to catch him. Sasuke was breathless and cold, his dark eyes confused and dazed.

"Why would you do that...!?" Naruto asked desperately, water welling up in the corner of his eyes. Sasuke took in a shaky breath and then smiled in a sad amusement.

"My body just... moved on it's own," he claimed, and Naruto's lip trembled, "Naruto... you're..." Sasuke's hand reached up, fingers trailing down Naruto's scarred cheek in a sloppy caress, then his arm fell limp and his head fell back. In the next few moments, all Naruto felt was rage at their attacker and he blacked out.

When he came to, it was when Haku jumped to defend Zabuza.

* * *

 _Man..._ Sakura had thought as they waited at the bridge, _I feel so awkward, these two have been so weird since the Wave mission... sensei, just show up, already!_ she pleaded internally as Naruto and Sasuke glared at one another. It was later that day that Kakashi handed them their applications for the chunin exam and they had an encounter with Gaara. As Sasuke crumbled a rock and let the debris float in the wind, he barely felt a presence on the opposite side of the trunk and turned towards it just as soon as Gaara began to speak to his teammates. As he watched the interaction, he got the strangest feeling that the red-headed sand nin seemed off, which was very peculiar given he didn't even know the guy, so he shrugged off the premonition and when Gaara asked his name - and not Naruto's - he smirked and offered it, deciding that he wanted to face the genin; if nothing else, than to figure out what seemed so odd about the kid. Before they entered, a green-clad genin proposed a fight, to which Sasuke smirked confidently and claimed that Lee wouldn't be able to beat him. The short battle ended with some new moves in his repertoire, as well as the odd arrival of Guy.

Their written portion was passed, with much strain on Naruto's part, and then they were ushered to the second portion of the exam and stared at the fence surrounding the formidable forest. Anko had called it the forest of death, and it seemed to promise nothing less. When they were finally allowed in, Sasuke had possession of their scroll and they traipsed through. Naruto claimed he had to 'relieve himself' and Sakura complained at his pigishness, forcing him to scuttle behind a tree. When he returned, Sasuke saw right through and attacked the impostor - yet oddly enough, the impostor's tailored, sharper moves made him consider that even though Naruto's fighting style didn't look as smooth, it should have. He decided not to contemplate that, and focused on the task at hand. Sasuke growled that Naruto wasn't left handed, a fact he felt like he solidly knew, and commanded that the person reveal themselves. They clashed and Sasuke freed Naruto with a kunai in the process. He was blasted off of a tree by an exploding tag, then he dropped a kunai under his foot and felt it cling to the underside of his sandal. His eyes flickered red, and he couldn't help but feel like his sharingan was too clear, but he took it and chucked the shuriken upwards, then followed after it and dug a knife into the assailant's chest. It felt easy... and it felt... good. And that scared him a bit, but he shook it off and dropped to the ground as the guy fled, eyes flickering back to their regular color. Sasuke proposed a password, purposefully so that Naruto wouldn't remember it, and they all agreed to it. It made it simple to detect when Naruto - much to Sasuke's annoyance - fell into another trap. Although, admittedly, Sasuke could just tell the chakra was wrong. It irked him.

"Where's Naruto!?" Sasuke growled angrily after explaining to Sakura why Naruto remembering the password they had made up would never have been possible. It was the most bone cringing, creepy site his eyes had laid on when 'naruto's' tongue flicked out of his mouth and slid across it in anticipation before the odd grass nin popped out of the fake illusion in a puff. _This ninja... I swear I know them..._ flowed through Sasuke's mind and he scowled at the clearing air. The unnamed attacker swallowed their scroll with a taunt, then their beady eyes fell upon Sakura and Sasuke and Sasuke felt the rush of something invading his senses, the terrible foreboding sense of his death pulling at him. And it made him... angry. That such a trick would be used against him. He trembled in fury, not understanding where the basis of it emerged from, but he mulled over the chakra that was being emitted from the strange woman. So dark. So cruel. So... familiar. _Goddammit! Why!?_ he whipped his head to Sakura to see where she was at, but she was frozen in paralysis and his anger continued to boil, his eyes trained on the ground.

"Kukuku, you're frozen in magnificent fear, how delicious," the grass nin cooed slimily. _What's wrong with me...?_ Sasuke narrowed his eyes further at the ground, _Why do I feel so... loathsome?_ it was the best word to describe it, and he slowly reached for the pack tied to his leg, his head beginning to pound, "Don't worry, I'll make it quick," the voice pierced his ears and he felt his hands shaking. So angry... so angry... why was he so angry? He shouted out his frustration, then darted to the side and snatched Sakura's body as his eyes flashed red once more, forcing them away from the kunai. Once he had them settled on a tree limb, his eyes fell back to onyx and Sakura asked him if he was alright and he quickly slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes looking warily back at the direction they had come. _What is this? What is this feeling? What am I overcome with? What has... what has this woman brought out!?_ Sakura stared at his overwhelmed expression and felt a desperation at his disconcertion. If Sasuke was shaken... that wasn't good. A snake emerged beside them and Sasuke's head flipped to it, sharingan flaring once more, and he and Sakura darted apart. He aptly threw some shuriken into it's mouth and stared wide-eyed as he landed, consumed with a feeling he didn't understand. Something inside of him was screaming. Screaming what, though, he didn't know. The mysterious nin broke through the skin of the snake with a cackle, "I sense your desperation... it's only natural... and I feed off of it!" she smirked grotesquely and Sasuke felt his lip furl, glaring straight at the woman, and the opposing nin looked surprised, "The mangekyo..." the word rolled off her tongue and Sasuke's eyes widened. _The mangekyo!?_ "My, my, who did you have to kill, boy?" the nin laughed and Sasuke felt his breath leave him. _The... mangekyo...? Who did he... kill...?_ Just as the grass nin slithered her elongated body around a truck, a spray of weapons cut off her path and everyone looked to where Naruto stood proudly.

"Hey, better late than never!" he called out smugly and Sasuke blinked, still lost in his revelation. _I produced... the mangekyo...?_ The Uchiha felt the waves of dangerous chakra flowing off their attacker and felt compelled to warn Naruto.

"Naruto, get the hell away from here - you don't know what you're getting into!" he reasoned, wanting the idiotic blonde away from their psychotic assailant. Naruto focused on the scene with folded arms and Sasuke felt his frustration grow, "Fucking leave, Naruto!" _This bitch will eat you alive!_

"I don't know what's been happening here, but your attacking my friends and I'll make you pay for that!" Naruto shouted and Sasuke inwardly groaned. _Moron!_ "Watch out now, asshole!" the blonde flew towards the group, but the attacker laughed and summoned a giant snake, riding atop it's head, smacking Naruto's body and causing him to fly and hit a tree.

"Naruto!" both Sasuke and Sakura called out, and Sasuke was about to jump through the air to grab the blonde when he felt something. An energy protruded from Naruto in invisible waves and it felt so _familiar,_ just like all these other confusing events, and above that, it felt powerful. Sasuke's body froze as his eyes tracked the blonde, seeing his chakra mould around his form and he gazed on in confusion. Naruto pounded in font of the snake and stopped it's head from reaching Sasuke, then red eyes met red eyes and they stared at one another for a moment.

" _You_ ," a voice spoke from Naruto's mouth that wasn't his own. It was deep and fierce and he recognized it somewhere in his hazy consciousness and Naruto shook his head in befuddlement and grabbed at his hair. Sasuke began to feel crazy. A stirring began in him and he looked down at Naruto's feet, a short chortle of laughter bubbling from him in despair. _What is going on...? It's like my fabric of reality is..._ "Eh, Sasuke - agh!" Naruto wriggled in the clutches of the grass ninja's elongated tongue and Sasuke shivered as he felt familiar with the scene. He looked up and laughed, sounding damn near maniacal, and Sakura uttered his name in horror from another branch. In an undetectable movement, Sasuke whipped out a shuriken and sliced the tongue with a deviant smirk and his hands clenched, aching for something, as the attacking nin let out a noise of appalled shock and slid her tongue back as it regenerated on the way.

"Why do I feel like... I need a sword?" Sasuke asked in a low voice, head tilted to the side in a precarious way. Naruto looked up at the other with wide eyes and struggled to stand, "And why does it feel like I've been here before?" another question left his mouth as another insane pop of laughter left his throat, "Why the _fuck_ do I have mangekyo, and why do I _know_ you..." as he was speaking it, the name popped in his head and his smirk looked despicable and he almost enjoyed the power he felt that flowed through his veins. It was dark, enticing, and strong. The grass nin looked on curiously, caught by surprise, and Sasuke murmured, "Orochimaru..." the attacking ninja's eyes grew wide and she let out her own cackle.

"My, my, you are a special boy," Orochimaru smirked back, tongue flicking out, "and just full of surprises..."

" _Uchiha_ ," a voice left Naruto's body that wasn't his own again and Sasuke gazed into blood red eyes and a grim expression that didn't suit Naruto's young face, " _You're there, somewhere. You're eyes prove that. This body is still... ill prepared... not more than a few seconds, now... but... he's not here.._." as soon as the last word left Naruto's mouth the blonde's eyes rolled back and his body slumped to the branch, but Sasuke caught it in a smooth movement and delivered him to lay next to Sakura. _What... was that, just now?_ but he didn't have time to contemplate it as Orochimaru drew his attention back and announced that he wanted to play. Oddly enough, Sasuke felt annoyed and let his body move him as it seemed fit to. The pair were caught in a fluid battle, yet Sasuke's eyes tracked every movement and eventually they ended up circling one another and Sasuke felt an odd, dark anticipation in his gut once more, making him smirk morosely.

"You seem so... well rehearsed," he muttered and Orochimaru cackled with glee.

"I'd love to know why," the words were slimy and Sasuke's hand twitched for a weapon he didn't own once again. _Let's see what these eyes of mine can do...!_ the sharingan copied movements, right? So... was it possible that he knew something he didn't realize he knew? His hands began forming seals before he even realized what he was doing, and suddenly a crackle of lightning surrounded his left hand and he laughed unbelievingly.

"Thats...!" Sakura watched above with uncertainty. _That's our sensei's technique!_

"I wanted power," Sasuke began darkly, "and it's already fucking in my hands!" he darted forwards but stopped before hitting Orochimaru as he recognized the figure as a replacement. His eyes darted around and he saw the real opponent on a trunk, gazing thoughtfully at him.

"You're far stronger than I thought," the woman leered, arms crossed, "and I _want_ you!" she hissed and Sasuke eyed the other with a cold gaze, but suddenly he felt the consequence of chakra depletion and knew he had to finish their battle. He tried to keep his jutsu - what was it? - alive, but the crackle faded and he felt weary, eyes flickering out as he fell to his knees. _Shit... too late..._ he breathed heavily and Sakura called out to him in horror as Orochimaru's neck expanded and 'her' teeth sunk into Sasuke's neck. The scene felt surreal and his mind played a different version before he passed out.

When he awoke, it was to a different environment, his time asleep having been spent in short spurts of an odd parallel to his life, and he felt a darkness consume him. He stood up, feeling possessed, and his eyes caught Sakura's beaten form and he growled.

"Who did this to you...?" he watched as Sakura's head turned, then her eyes widening in fear at his figure. Sasuke let the odd darkness ebb into his bloodstream, invading his thought, and he was filled with a bloodlust that felt consuming and familiar - familiar, again... - as he asked again who had hurt her.

"It was me!" some over confident sound ninja called amusedly and Sasuke turned to him with a cruel gaze. Another of the sound nin's team called out to stop egging Sasuke on, but it was too late. Sasuke had a thirst to _hurt_ something, and this guy was perfect for that category. The nin tried a blasting technique that Sasuke easily avoided, taking both Sakura and Naruto out of harms way, then he grabbed the man's wrists and put a foot on his back.

"You're pretty attached to those arms, aren't you?" Sasuke muttered darkly and he could feel the man shuddering under him, _you worthless scum_ , then he tugged the socket out of place, tearing muscle, and heard Sakura's shocked squeak behind him. Sasuke leaned down, feeling malicious in an oddly delectable way, "You're not anymore, hm?" the man screamed under him as Sasuke twisted the joint then kicked him to the side, his mangekyo traveling to the other standing sound nin in anticipation as he felt the curse spread, consuming, "Your pitiful life can end here, now," Sasuke said emotionlessly as he stepped forwards, then he felt arms wrap around him and Sakura's voice begging for him to stop. _So dark. So cold. So distant._ He breathed in and out, trying to remember who he was. _So lost. So lost... So lost..._ His knees buckled. _Who the fuck am I...?_ he thought desperately as Sakura sobbed lightly behind him. The sound nin who he was about to attack tossed him their scroll and claimed that he didn't understand why Orochimaru would have sent their group out to attack Sasuke if he held such power as he had shown, then they slunk away and the Konoha nin gathered in the clearing, offering Sasuke some wary glances. Naruto finally came to, holding his head and oddly quiet. After a few minutes he managed to make a comment about Sakura's hair, to which she smiled and shrugged off.

It was within the next three days that Sasuke offered help to a familiar looking girl with red hair and glasses.

* * *

Sasuke's match was announced and he was ready, despite Sakura's obvious worry for him. It went off without a hitch and a few more painful pangs, then when he finished Kakashi told him that they needed to address his seal... as well as his sharingan. They abandoned the arena and Kakashi set up a sealing ring calmly in a room with pillars.

"So..." he started and Sasuke leaned against a pole with his eyes closed, holding his neck, "You're sharingan had three tomoe," his sensei noted and Sasuke furrowed his brow. He couldn't tell which sharingan he'd awakened, his untrained eyes unaccustomed to the distinction. It must've not been the mangekyo in the match, then. "It's quite impressive, Sasuke," Kakashi glanced over his shoulder as the last mark was drawn on the floor, "As well as quite worrisome," Sasuke finally opened his dark eyes and gazed wearily at the man, "come sit," Kakashi instructed and Sasuke did as he was told, passing out after the sealing was completed.

* * *

"I'll be getting you prepared for the final stage of the Chunin exam," Kakashi explained and Sasuke nodded silently, "There's something I'd like to teach you."

It turned out that the something Kakashi had wanted to teach Sasuke was the technique he'd used while fighting Orochimaru. He'd decided to keep that piece of information to himself. During their training, Sasuke became more aware of his own sharingan and could start to tell the visual distinctions. The recesses of his mind were telling him to keep his mangekyo low profile. There was once, however, that he felt it slip into that form. He knew Kakashi had caught it, the shocked widening of his visible eye being a better indicator than any, but the man said nothing. Distantly, he wondered why. Kakashi also failed to comment on how quickly Sasuke took to the chidori. However, with his chakra reserves, Sasuke could still only maintain three burst of chidori strikes... he was blissfully unaware that this was one more than his parallel life had allowed.

* * *

During his fight with Gaara, he was careful to not slip into mangekyo. It was only when chaos began to surround him that he followed Gaara over the arena barrier and activated the advanced form. Everything looked harshly beyond vivid, and he put up a good fight with two more chidori strikes at the monstrous boy before his reserves fell flat and Naruto showed up, predictably.

* * *

Sasuke openly used the mangekyo when he finally found Itachi with Naruto.

"Brother," Sasuke spoke darkly, eyeing the other man. It was odd. He felt disdain and a fierce love for the man all at the same time, leaving him conflicted. What happened to his conviction? Itachi looked away from Naruto, expecting to find a rather frail version of his brother, then he stared at Sasuke in shock as they locked eyes.

"Heh, this kid has the same eyes as you!" Kisame considered with a humor and Itachi continued to stare at his younger sibling while Naruto struggled in his grip.

"...Little brother..." Itachi finally spoke, eyes narrowing at Sasuke's while the boy silently seethed in a confused frustration, "...Your eyes are... impressive... as they are peculiar," Itachi spoke slowly and Sasuke flexed his hands.

"Are you surprised, brother?" Sasuke laughed sickeningly and sneered at Itachi, "I will be stronger than you," he growled lowly and his brother continued to gaze at him, "I will not be consumed by you," Sasuke felt power accumulating in his palm, "I will surpass you!" he felt a nausea invade his gut but forced out his last words in a hiss, "I will destroy you!" then he darted forwards, chidori chirping loudly in his hand, but he was stopped mid-run by a genjutsu casted by Itachi. Yet, Sasuke found that he could counter, and they were both drawn into an odd, red-hued limbo. The brothers stared at one another, Sasuke glaring and Itachi blank, until Itachi finally spoke.

"There is a presence within you," he spoke in a dull tone and Sasuke forced his face to be neutral, "the rinnegan watches me, even now..." Sasuke felt his brows twitch at the term. _The rinnegan?_ "There is a tortured soul attached to yours, and I must admit... that I do not understand," Itachi chuckled to himself, "how odd..."

"What are you rambling about, Itachi!?" Sasuke growled in frustration. He wanted to drive a kunai through the man's flesh, but at the same time he wanted to shield him from the world. Why? _Why? Weak!_ Suddenly, Sasuke felt a manifestation behind his body and saw Itachi's features slip from surprised to an almost bitter smile, but before he could turn they were both thrown out of the illusion and Sasuke stood staring at his brother, heaving heavy breaths. Abruptly, he was extremely exhausted.

"I will see you again," Itachi murmured and Sasuke's vision faded to black.

* * *

Tears dropped from his eyes as he hovered over Naruto's limp form. It hurt. Why did it hurt so bad? It felt like something in his soul had torn. He needed to go. The longer he stayed in Konoha the more sick with himself he became and the more answers he felt eluded him. He needed to go elsewhere; look for better sources. More power. This Orochimaru was familiar to him somehow, and he intended to find out why.

But...

Droplets fell around them, but he knew that the ones that rolled across Naruto's cheeks were from his own eyes. It hurt so damn bad.

"What is it... about you...?" he forced out hoarsely and swallowed a sob, eyes staring blankly down at the other, "...don't..." Sasuke didn't even know what he was saying by that point. A forceful sob wracked his body and he clenched his hands into fists, letting out a pained noise.

He had to go.

He had to go...

Sasuke stood up and looked down at the scene of his prone friend and his own scraped forehead protector beside him.

Numb.

He was numb...

And he had to go.

* * *

 _Author's Note: Oh my... So, chapters will return to normal style next chapter (as in, not in a million pieces...). Anything that I didn't write on in the original series can be basically assumed to have stayed true to canon - if it changed, it will be referenced to later (as this was essentially Sasuke's view...)_

 _***SPECIAL CHAPTER FOUR PREVIEW BELOW!***_

 _A heart-wrenching cry arose out of the rubble of a valley long left abandoned. The devastated cries echoed in the begotten canyon, bouncing off of the crumbling walls._

 _"No..." a broken plea rang out, "No, please...!" the request met silence and only the return call of the man's own sobs. He knew that he was alone. He could feel it in his bones, in the fibre of his very being. He broke his promise. And he was alone. Another cry screamed from his raw throat and he collapsed on the broken fingers of Madara and Hashirama, "Sasuke..." his body wracked with emotion, eyes clenched shut and hands in shaking fists, sliding on the stone, "Sasukeeeh...!"_


	5. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer: I do not own** ** _Naruto_** **and am in no way associated with Masashi Kishimoto. This story is not for profit, and written purely for entertainment.**...Enjoy!

* * *

 _Chapter Four: Leave My Body; No Light, No Light_

A heart-wrenching cry arose out of the rubble of a valley long left abandoned. The devastated cries echoed in the begotten canyon, bouncing off of the crumbling walls.

"No..." a broken plea rang out, "No, please...!" the request met silence and only the return call of the man's own sobs. He knew that he was alone. He could feel it in his bones, in the fiber of his very being. He broke his promise. And he was alone. Another cry screamed from his raw throat and he collapsed on the broken fingers of Madara and Harashima, "Sasuke..." his body wracked with emotion, eyes clenched shut and hands in shaking fists, sliding on the stone, "Sasukeeeh...!"

* * *

"Lord Sixth!" a woman spoke urgently as she ran through the halls of the Hokage tower, attracting odd gazes from the shinobi that stood idly by. Her red hair shuffled in the movements she made, glasses slipping down her nose a little.

"Karin!" Suigetsu called after her, "Damn, slow down! What the fuck has you all excited!?" she ignored him in lieu of bounding forwards, yelling for the acting hokage.

"Lord Sixth!" Karin called again, screeching to a halt outside of the office doors. Shikamaru had been closing one of them, and looked up at the woman with a surprised expression, brows knitted together.

"Karin, what are you doing in Konoha?" the advisor questioned skeptically and she huffed loudly, an urgency in her actions.

"Let me through, Nara!" she tried to force her way forward, but he held her in place with a shadow while Suigetsu looked increasingly more aggravated.

"Karin-"

"I felt him!" Karin shouted impatiently and the hall was silent before Shikamaru tilted his head with a careful scrutiny.

"Found who, Karin?" tears collected in the corner of her eyes and she tried her best to keep her composure.

"I-I was looking for Sasuke, but..." Shikamaru was already letting go of his shadow hold as she spoke, "...but I found Naruto!" as soon as her limbs could move, she slammed through the office doors and found Kakashi already staring at her with wide eyes. The other two men rushed in after her and Shikamaru closed the doors behind them for privacy.

"Tell me everything you know," Kakashi spoke seriously, standing from his seat. Karin walked a few more hesitant steps forward, then nodded and wiped a stray tear from her cheek.

"Well... I didn't want to believe it... when I heard about Sasuke..." she provided with a frown and suppressed more tears from falling, "I didn't want to accept..." Karin's voice faded as she looked past the Sixth to the town of Konoha, half of which was still heavily recuperating from the Otsutsuki attack a week prior, "I thought that maybe I could find his chakra somewhere, if I searched far enough... b-but... I couldn't find him," a sob finally escaped her, but she looked directly into Kakashi's dark eyes, "But I thought that maybe, if I could find Naruto-! It was always them, together, and I had hoped... w-well, I found Naruto!" once her explanation finished, Kakashi had already summoned his ninkin and he stared at her intensely.

"Where?" his voice was commanding and she swallowed a lump in her throat.

"I'll show you," Karin answered and wiped more tears. She didn't find the man that she still loved, but she found the man that _he_ loved. And that was worth pursuing.

The next hour saw a group that was ready to set out for a 'Naruto recovery mission'. It consisted of Karin, Sakura, Boruto, Sarada and Kakashi himself. He'd be damned if he wasn't there to save one of his former students from certain death, again. It was decided that they would not tell Hinata until they had returned with Naruto; she had a younger child to worry about, and she wouldn't have sat idle if she knew. Kakashi had wanted to keep the team small, but it already had more individuals than he was comfortable with. Ultimately, however, it couldn't be helped. Karin was obvious, as was Sakura - her healing capacities were highly plausibly needed, Boruto had been with both Sarada and Sakura and had stubbornly not left when Shikamaru had come to them saying that there was official business. Not having time to lose, the advisor weighed his options and decided to just come out with it, despite the teen's presence. Sarada was chosen as her sharingan could see what the average eye couldn't. Kakashi had instructed that Shikamaru kept order while the group slipped away as soon as night began to fall.

"I knew I saw something," Sarada was mumbling to herself as the group sped through the trees, the light fading above them. Boruto jumped on the branches beside her, determination flowing through his veins. _Hold on dad, we're coming..._

"Karin," Sakura's voice had an official tone to it, the type she maintained as a medic, "how did you find Naruto?" the other woman was quiet for a moment as the crew darted through foliage.

"I wasn't... looking for him until this morning... but... then I found a signature... by the boarder of Sound... it's definitely Naruto, but it's..." Karin glanced over at Sakura with a disconcertion, "It's different, Sakura," she decided and Sakura furrowed her brows. Naruto's signature was different? What in the world had happened in those last moments? _Those last moments..._ Sakura forced her thoughts away from such final phrasing. Naruto was there. Maybe Sasuke would be somewhere, as well, if Naruto was there. But at least... At least Naruto was found - _almost found_.

"Kakashi!" Pakkun spoke as he bounded along the branches next to his summoner. The acting hokage looked down at the pug, "Doesn't this particular path feel familiar?" Kakashi contemplated that. Indeed, it did. It was a path he had rushed towards maybe twenty years prior. _Twenty years..._

"How poetic," Kakashi spoke with a bitter amusement and smiled morosely under his mask.

"Kakashi?" Sakura questioned to his side, offering a questioning glance at the statement. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at her.

"Where is the one place, Sakura? The one place for those two...?" the words made the cogs in her head turn and she let out an odd gurgle of acknowledgment. Sarada and Boruto flickered their eyes between Sakura and Kakashi, not having the slightest idea where they could be referring to, but Sakura quickly answered their unasked question.

"... The Valley of the End," she gazed sadly ahead of her, a grim expression on her face. _Of course._ The group was silent for a long moment until Boruto couldn't handle his morbid curiosity, his anxiety coming in troves over finding his father.

"Why would we find him there?" he burst out, and Sarada didn't even hit him for it. Not in this situation. Not with her own curiosity eating at her. Another silence ebbed, and when Kakashi was finally going to lament and say something, Sakura decided to instead.

"It's a place with a lot of meaning for your father and Sasuke," Sakura spoke pointedly, but didn't turn around. She couldn't. Not with tears in her eyes.

"...Why...?" Sarada dared. She was tired of knowing nearly nothing about one half of her lineage. She barely felt like an Uchiha as it was. And it wasn't her father they were chasing down. He may truly be gone, and if he was, then she deserved to know. Everything. Every. Damn. Detail. She noticed water flick past her. _Oh..._ her sharp eyes watched her mother's movements, _you don't need to be strong mom. Not right now. Not for me._

"It's hard to explain," Sakura spoke with the most even voice she could manage and quickly wiped at her face. I told myself I wouldn't be weak anymore. _I won't be weak this time._ _Naruto, we are coming for you._

"It shouldn't be long now," Pakkun piped from Kakashi's feet and the man nodded.

"Karin, can you still feel him?" Kakashi asked the red-head nodded resolutely.

"Yes, but it's shallow, I don't know how long..." the rest of her statement faded. She knew it might be painful for them to hear, and kept it to herself. They pushed forwards and Kakashi began to hear the sounds of rushing water creep closer to them. The last of daylight was fading to a gray, and they propelled themselves faster, feeling the anticipation of retrieval at their fingertips.

Ever so slowly, the brush began to thin and the trees became less dense. The sound of crashing water was fully upon them, and they careened out of the forest's edge, eyes all zeroing in on the form of a collapsed man, robes tattered and dried blood clinging to his visible skin and fabric. His appearance made everyone wary, the lifelessness so unlike the man they knew. Their feet landed and they surrounded him in a small circle. His head was down, so they were yet to see his face. Tentatively, Sakura lent down and reached a shaking hand out, the water a deafening roar behind them.

"Naruto...?" she tried as her hand finally met his bruised arm - _Bruised! Why is he bruised!?_ \- and her fingers gently scrolled across the skin. Nothing. No response. Not even a flinch. "... Naruto...?" she tried again, even softer as her digits stretched towards his neck and the back of his blonde head. She sent a quick glance up at Karin, who nodded to indicate that she still felt his chakra, then her hand tenderly pressed by his ear and forced his head to turn so that she could see his face. Upon turning him towards her, she had a sharp intake of breath. It wasn't that he was disfigured in any way, for all physical purposes he looked as he should except a few scrapes, it was the empty look in his eyes. Sakura had never seen Naruto look so... void. So numb. He looked entirely broken of his being. "N-Naruto...?" she called, nearly mute, one last time. Boruto and Sarada had been eager to look at him, having been standing on the opposite side, but Kakashi held up an hand authoritatively. He was above the blonde's head, and he could clearly see Naruto's expression, as could Karin who looked shocked. Karin had only ever seen that look on one other person in her life, and that was one Sasuke Uchiha at his worst.

"...lied..." Naruto mumbled, his voice dull and his lips chapped. Sakura gazed at him, pain welling in her heart, and Kakashi lowered himself towards the ground, partially to shield Naruto from the teen's prying eyes. Maybe they really shouldn't have been there.

"Naruto," Sakura tried to coax brokenly, rubbing her palm across his face and fingers into his hair in a loving gesture before pressing a hand on his back to heal him. Her eyes widened as she realized the extent of his bodily injuries, "Lied abo-!" Naruto rolled away from her hand lethargically, the same void look in his eyes, looking straight up at Kakashi, but not really seeing him.

"Don't," the blonde said emotionlessly and Sakura's hands shook. The front of Naruto's jacket was in shatters, as if something had burned it away, and his chest was littered with badly healing gashes.

"Naruto, I need to heal you," Sakura tried and began to reach over, but his wrist shot up in a surprising movement and her grabbed her arm firmly, his head lulling her direction. If she'd wanted to, his grasp was weak enough in his drained state that she could dislodge it, but she was shocked by this foreign man in the body of her friend.

"Don't," he spoke again a little more roughly, his dull blue eyes meeting hers before his gaze drifted behind her, down the river, "...No..." Sakura blinked at him, then turned to Kakashi who was eying Naruto with a severe look, but something in his eyes was resigned... like he could almost relate... to how... _oh, no..._

"Naruto, what are you saying?" she forced out, trying to smile and roll the feeling off, her hands once again pushing forwards and Naruto's second hand, again, stopping her.

"Stop, Sakura," Naruto's voice really didn't sound like his own, and it was scaring her. He sounded defeated. She didn't want that. She wanted her happy, optimistic and bright friend back. This man... this man before her... did not reflect any of that.

"Naruto, stop, please, I need to..." Sakura's voice trailed as she watched a silent tear fall from Naruto's eye, "...Naruto..." her voice was breathless and she lowered her hand out from Naruto's grasp to wipe at the wet path.

"Just let me go," the blonde spoke quietly, a sheen covering his eyes and he finally shut them as his mouth quivered. The silence around them was invasive, the only noise from the water crashing beyond them and Kakashi closed his eyes with a pained look while Sakura finally let her own tears fall.

"Naruto, don't talk like that," she whispered and subtly brought her hands down to hover above his chest, ready to heal him, "you can't say such things..." wetness slithered from Naruto's eyes and carved down the sides of his face.

"It's not right," he spoke brokenly, but Sakura was just happy he was finally speaking more. That was a good sign, "It's not right!" it had come out a little more forcefully and his lip trembled, "I told him that we would die together - I told him that he wouldn't be alone!"

"Naruto," Kakashi forced out. He needed to stop Naruto before he said something stupid. Sakura began to channel chakra to her palms, but Naruto was quick to shove them away again and she looked at him with a devastated gaze. She wasn't sure how to handle this Naruto.

"Stop! Stop it! Stop trying to heal me!" he had lashed out with his eyes opening sharply, voice rough and louder than before, causing him to cough up a little red and then a sob wracked his body. The sound he made broke Sakura's heart. It wasn't the kind of sound that was ever supposed to be emit from anyone, much less Naruto. It was the sound of a broken man; a man filled with agony, "I don't want it! He died and didn't take me with him!" another sob ripped from his throat, "Fuck you, Sasuke!" Naruto closed his eyes and yelled, again spitting up crimson, "How dare you run away again!?" another sob, "I'll rip you to pieces when I find you in the afterlife!" another sob, "Let me go! Let me go! I don't want this - let me go! Let me-ngh!" Kakashi had banged him roughly on the head, sufficiently knocking him out.

"You damned idiot..." the man admonished with a weary look at his former student and the hysterical mess he was. The end of Sasuke was simply the end of him. Yet, in all actuality, Kakashi wouldn't have expected anything less. He looked up at Sakura, who had her hands on her face with tears rolling down, looking at Naruto with unabashed horror, and sighed, "Sakura," it took her a few moments to look at him, and when she did she looked terrorized, "Sakura, what's important right now is to get Naruto's health back-"

"But this isn't-Naruto he-"

"Sakura," he spoke her name domineeringly and her breath hitched, "heal Naruto," he commanded and she mechanically nodded her head and placed her palms over his chest, tears falling rapidly. Kakashi looked up at Karin who gazed down at the blonde with a saddened expression, "Karin, what's wrong with Naruto's chakra?" her eyes flicked up to him and she pressed her mouth in a line.

"Uhm... it's like something is missing," she spoke lightly, still a little in shock, "It used to be robust, and it still is, but it's missing... an edge, I suppose..." Karin tried and Pakkun went up to Naruto's head and sniffed him.

"He smells different, boss," the pug admit, throwing in a 'poor kid' afterwards, "less demonic..." Kakashi's brows furrowed. _Less demonic?_ Now, he dared to look up at the teenagers. They really shouldn't have been around for any of that interaction... but it was unchangeable, now.

"Sarada," he finally stood, uncovering Naruto's face, and looked at the Uchiha. She and Boruto's eyes were instantly glued to Naruto's face with devastated expressions. Sarada because this was her hokage, and he had spoken words with such finality about her father - the one that she just recently got back - and Boruto because this was his father. His very, very broken father, "I need you to use your sharingan for something," the girl's eyes darted to the man and she blinked before activating her eyes, three tomoe swirling, and nodded jerkily, "there was a time... when Sasuke used his sharingan to interact with the Kyuubi inside of Naruto," Kakashi spoke carefully, "I need you to try and see if you can access Kurama inside of him. It's asking a lot, but I'd bet that you can do it," he told her and she stared at him.

"I..." Sarada's eyes left his to scan the group; Karin's mournful expression to her mother's tearful, struggling efforts to Naruto's lifeless form. Now was not the time to hesitate, "of course," she decided and looked at her hokage, determination in her eyes. She tried to sift through what her eyes could access, and she finally felt a push behind her eyes and the world around her shifted into that of a leaky maze. "Where am I...?" she questioned aloud, but no one answered. She was alone. Slowly, she began to walk through the odd chamber, then her walk broke to a run as she twisted in endless corridors. It felt like ages, but she finally reached a room that held a cage and she stared at it. The doors were open and rusted, and an odd ominous feeling of emptiness filled her. This place was certainly the one that she was supposed to find... but it was abandoned. She closed her eyes and felt the sharingan leave her, "I didn't find anything," Sarada spoke lowly and Kakashi gazed deeply at her, "there was a room with an open cage... but it was empty. Nothing was there," she continued and Kakashi's eyes widened.

"Are you sure about this, Sarada?" she nodded adamantly to his question and he frowned. How in the world could Kurama have disappeared? The Otsutsuki didn't have enough time to extract it, they certainly would have been obliterated, and for that matter, Naruto and Sasuke should have been, too. Naruto having been recovered, but Kurama being gone, along with Sasuke was just... curious. Karin couldn't feel Sasuke, and Naruto was obviously under the impression that Sasuke met his demise - and the heavens know that Naruto was in tune to just about everything with the other man - but Sasuke had obviously tried something risky, and he had succeeded in transporting Naruto here... And had Naruto really been laying here for a week? If he had... how... tragic... Yet, if Sasuke had succeeded in anything, at all, with what he attempted, then, "Sasuke might still be alive," he announced and everyone looked at him.

"What?" Sakura struggled, "But Karin can't feel him and Naruto said-"

"Naruto is in hysterics; you know better than to assume, Sakura," Kakashi chided and she promptly shut her mouth, "Theoretically, he may be dead... to this dimension. Don't forget that Sasuke had the rinnegan," he spoke and Sakura's eyes widened.

"Sasuke might be in a different dimension?" Karin questioned hopefully and Kakashi nodded.

"And he might just have Kurama with him," he added, "I have a theory that he may have used the kyuubi's chakra and somehow everything got mixed up," Kakashi reasoned and looked down at Naruto, eyes softening, "If Naruto knew that there was a chance... he would stop at nothing..." Sakura looked at her old sensei harshly.

"Are you proposing that we don't say anything?" she didn't agree with the idea. It would tear the blonde apart from the inside out. She had already tried to go behind his back about something related to Sasuke - namely trying to assassinate him herself - and she learned first hand that Naruto saw right through it.

"No, quite the opposite," Kakashi smiled under his mask as he and Sakura shared a knowing gaze, "I'm not stupid enough to get into the middle of that again," he chuckled and then looked back down at the blonde.

"What exactly..." Boruto finally spoke up with an oddly devoid voice, "...is this? My dad..." he looked down at the limp man, "...obviously, he and Uncle Sasuke are..."

"Boruto," Kakashi began, preparing to mitigate disaster-control, "Naruto and Sasuke are connected by-" but Boruto looked at the man angrily.

"I _know_ about Ashura and Indra," he burst out and all the adults looked at him with shocked gazes as Sarada turned to him questioningly, "This," Boruto vaguely gestured to Naruto's face, " _this_ has nothing to do with being _brothers_!" he dared anyone to contradict him. And they didn't. "My dad told Sasuke they would die together? What the _hell_ brought that on!? People don't just act like they do with one another!" he shouted out, confused emotions raging inside of him, "Did you know they stayed together!? I mean, I don't-!"

"Boruto!" Sarada reprimanded her teammate and the blonde teen grimaced at her. Sakura took her hands away from Naruto's chest, exhausted, and looked tiredly at the teenagers.

"No, they're more than brothers," Sakura admit. Maybe it was time to fess up on their pasts a bit. Their children really knew next to nothing, "I... wanted to shield you from this," she looked at Sarada and ignored the warning call of Kakashi saying her name, "Sasuke defected from Konoha at fourteen..." a tragic smile covered her lips, "your age, actually..." the group was quiet, Kakashi decidedly staying out of this conversation for the time being, "I asked Naruto to bring Sasuke back... at the time I didn't realize... he gladly would have done it without my prompting... We chased him for three years. When we finally saw him again... he had... changed. I'd lost hope after he joined a horrible organization for a brief time, but Naruto... Naruto never did. He dedicated every second that he could to finding Sasuke. To bringing him home. To saving him from his own darkness..." fresh tears began to fall from her eyes and she wiped at them, "Naruto was the last person that Sasuke had left that had an ounce of faith in him. And they battled... over and over again. It was here... they nearly killed one another... and lost their arms. A time before, Naruto had told Sasuke that if they fought that they would both lose their lives, but if that were to happen..." she sniffled and Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura, that's enough," he told her, but she shook her head.

"If that were to happen that they would both be free of their burdens," her green eyes roved over Naruto's face, "the way that they understood one another was beyond anything I-... truly, if I were to put a name to it, they're soul-mates, maybe," she gave a small, watery smile towards Naruto's features, "I was blind to that, for a long time."

"And you're alright with that?" Boruto asked blandly and Sakura darted her eyes up to him questioningly.

"Of course I am," she looked at the teen as if he were silly, then looked back at Naruto and fondly pushed her fingers across his short hair, just happy to see him alive.

"I don't understand," Boruto said, losing his steam, and truly at a loss. How could this woman be so calm about her husband loving another man? Sakura looked up at him, seeming very tired.

"You don't have to; I love these two men fiercely," she smiled as a tear rolled down her face, "Their bond doesn't bother me," _Their 'bond'_ , Boruto had noticed she said and regarded her curiously, _what if their bond had manifested into something physical? Would it bother you then, Sakura? Or would you remain blissfully unaware, as you are now?_ They didn't see it. Naruto's generation didn't see it. The mistook what Naruto and Sasuke looked like for what they were, but Boruto and Sarada had fresh eyes, and saw what others bypassed out of conditioned habit. This was no brotherly love. Soul-mate might be right, but it wasn't enough. Love wasn't even right. No, what Naruto and Sasuke were was something so terrifyingly intricate that there was no name for their complexity. He reconsidered; soul-mate might truly be the best definition, yet not the shallow definition that Sakura had spoken so freely of. It was something binding and ethereal. Unhindered by the natural world.

"Sakura," Kakashi had sunk down and caught the woman as she fell backwards and she looked at him thankfully, "You overdid it," he admonished and she sighed.

"Well, now I have that damn fox's job, too," she jibed and then closed her eyes, "I need some rest, I'm sorry Kakashi," Sakura took a few deep breaths, "take care of my girl," was the last thing she murmured before she passed out in his arms and he eyed her softly before shifting her to his back and creating a clone to carry Naruto - not expecting Karin to handle him. His clone went about gathering Naruto off the ground hoisted him to his back, the blonde's head lulling to the side.

"Boruto," Kakashi looked at the teen who stared back at him with an unreadable expression, "we found your father," he reminded him and Boruto blinked before he grinned in an apprehensive joy, regardless of the complexities he was beginning to figure out.

"...I know," he nodded. This was a good thing. He missed his father. He didn't want to be without him, truly, he didn't. Kakashi's eyes shifted to Sarada's.

"Believe me when I say that Naruto will do everything in his power to find yours," he told the girl and she nodded as well.

"I do, believe you," her eyes drifted to Naruto's form, feeling like she was looking at the hokage with new eyes. This man... really loved her father. It was such an odd revelation; she really hadn't known that such a devotion existed. Both Boruto and Sarada stared at Kakashi. Could he tell? He stared right back at them, carefully blank. Maybe. Maybe he could.

"Let's bring our savior back to Konoha," he announced and grunted as he lifted from the ground with the heavy weight on his back, _I'm getting too old for this shit._

They ran back in silence, the night having fallen, and Sarada eventually felt Karin's presence next to her.

"Hey, kid," the woman spoke and Sarada glanced up with a quirked brow, "look, I know that you... well, anyway... if you want to know anything about Sasuke, feel free to ask," she smiled down at Sarada and the girl contemplated this with a suspicious face. _This woman is coming to me so freely with information? How unusual..._

"Why would you offer that?" Sarada asked and Karin shrugged.

"I've got nothing to lose by telling you anything," she admitted and Sarada glanced at her, "I loved your dad a long time ago... and I still love him now... but I looked at him with fresh eyes like you do, now," she smiled kindly as Sarada showed her a surprised expression, _is she saying...?_ "I see what you see," Karin expressed as they lagged behind the others, "I did then and I do now," she looked forward to the man that was held on Kakashi's back, "Naruto was always the only one that could change your dad's heart," she spoke lightly and scoffed, "I never stood a chance..." Sarada let the information roll around in her head for a while before speaking again.

"If all of that is the case... then why...?"

Karin eyed the girl.

"Then why isn't your dad with Naruto and vice-versa?" she finished Sarada's question and the teen nodded, "Good question, kid. Really, I think it's because they both felt like they had obligations to fill," then her eyes darted down to Sarada's, "that's not to say that Sasuke doesn't care about your mom, though. He definitely does. He admires her, and appreciates her," Sarada stared up at the other woman, brows furrowed.

"Does he love her?" Karin's eyes flickered to Sakura's form and she smiled, admitting her own defeat internally.

"I think he learned to," the woman admit and sighed, "and Sasuke really doesn't love a lot of people, trust me!" she laughed at herself, but Sarada was stuck in her own head. She wondered about Sasuke. And she wondered about Sakura. And she wondered about Naruto. And she wondered - she wondered - if any of them were truly happy as they were, because it seemed to her that all of them would be happier if things had been a little different. Realistically, Sarada felt less of an obligation to Sasuke, yet she still wanted him to be happy and just around, and as for her mother... she acted happy, but she was lonely. Even when Sasuke had been there for the past month, she had been lonely. Sarada's eyes clung to her mother's back. What if... no one had to be lonely anymore...? What if... they allowed for some changes to be made...?

She had to talk to Boruto.

* * *

 _Author's Note: Yes, I read your reviews... :) That's what prompted this to come out early so you could get a taste of normal chapters again and get an inkling of where this is headed. That being said: view these last two updates as special holiday treats! They came out fast - like, really fast - and usually I have another chapter lined up so I don't have rush later. BUT, the next chapter is still in editing... so bare with me. I don't want to rush and produce something poor quality. But at least you get this current chapter to chew on for a while!_

 _Let me explain myself here; I think that Naruto can handle the idea of Sasuke being out there - somewhere - for extended amounts of time... but if Sasuke were truly to be gone, as in not recoverable, Naruto would just fall into despair. Hence, his breakdown. Naruto would be severely lonely and highly depressed. Sasuke, however *hint, hint* would probably go raving mad. He would not be okay (again, serious *hint, hint; wink, wink*). So... I realize that there are a million different directions that this story could (and could continue to) go, but like I said, I have a plan - promise! I know exactly how this story will end already. Hopefully I can continue to entice with how things are headed! And, sincerely, I appreciate the feedback - I genuinely like to know what the reaction is to all of this!_

 _So... to clarify: I've separated them - I know... it's tragic, and I feel horrible for them. There are reasons, though. Reasons, reasons~_

 _Okay, till next time~!_

 _Bonus Note: Younger Naruto may or may not have inherited an additional fuzzy parasite... :3 (but that should have been marginally clear last chapter... maybe? I don't know... haha)_


	6. Chapter Five

**Disclaimer: I do not own** ** _Naruto_** **and am in no way associated with Masashi Kishimoto. This story is not for profit, and written purely for entertainment.**...Enjoy!

* * *

 _Chapter Five: I Found..._

He woke up, and it felt like a worse nightmare than he'd been in before.

The room was bright and he was wrapped in bandages. A light groan escaped him and it drew the eyes of the other inhabitant of the space.

"Naruto...!" her voice was oddly timid and he winced. He'd already made his decision... no matter what she said, that wouldn't change it now. _Damned fox..._

* * *

 _~Earlier~_

"Hey kid," a deep voice clawed at him and he felt water lapping at his ankles, "open your eyes..." the voice commanded and he did as it asked, slowly, "took you long enough..." before him stood a grand demonic fox, rather squashed next to another duplicate of itself. Naruto struggled to keep his eyes focused and looked at the odd scene. So this was it... the Kyuubi. Though, he hadn't been told that there were two of them. In fact, that seemed entirely wrong. A panic began to rise in his gut and the more docile of the two laughed at his reaction, "Surprise, surprise!" the fox crooned and the one behind it huffed, ill-mannered.

"Now that I can speak with you, child, can you fix this damned cage? Or open it? I have been stuck like this for nearly fourteen years in this godforsaken body of yours," the other fox growled with impatience and the one before it snapped idly in it's direction.

"Don't scare the kit," the foremost Kyuubi howled in a temper and Naruto was beyond confused.

"What is... what is this?" the blonde asked, glancing around the dripping room for answers. His ears met another booming laugh from the calmer presence, and his blue eyes followed to bright, gleaming eyes that stared back.

"I have been laying in wait for this day," the fox mulled and lowered itself to be closer to the teen, "I only had one moment with that damned Uchiha brat, and even that wasn't enough. He's clearly suppressed what has happened," Naruto's blue eyes had widened at Sasuke's name and he dared himself to ask the question that begged at his mind.

"What has... happened?" his voice was tentative and defensive, a far cry from how he usually addressed his curiosities. The fox before him grinned widely and the one behind let out an impatient grunt.

"You died."

Naruto felt the words to his bones and he was petrified. Sasuke had... No, that wasn't possible. He would never... would he? Was he that desperate?

"Not yet, kid, not yet," the kyuubi continued and Naruto felt breath enter his lungs again, "about twenty years from now, maybe," the demon contemplated and the breath left Naruto again.

"What!?" he struggled out and the fox offered another sickening smile while the one behind it grumbled and re-situated to face away from the conversing pair.

"Yes; quite tragic," Kurama mewled and settled even further to the floor, "I came to enjoy you quite a bit," he eyed the blonde lazily, "you're certainly one-of-a-kind, Naruto Uzumaki," the blank look on Naruto's face made him growl in annoyance, "I did forget what a dunce you were at this age, though - I do not belong here. I belong within you, twenty years from now, but circumstances have prevented that..." Naruto continued to stare blankly, only the dripping water around them sounding in the space.

"...So... you're from the future," the fox deadpanned at his revelation.

"Quite slow on the up-take, kid," Kurama stated blandly and the one behind him grumbled.

"How did you handle it for so long?" the backmost fox murmured and Kurama snorted.

"It get's better," the kyuubi focused back on the blonde kid, "yes, for your purposes, I'm from the future-"

"I don't believe you!" Naruto butted in, stepping back with a fear, "You're lying!"

"I wish I were," Kurama spoke tiredly then stood once more, "and this dimension has played out like a bad re-run," Naruto was suddenly picked up by a force of red water and shoved upwards to face the fox head-on, "That kid, the Uchiha, will not be alright when he figures it out. If you want to prevent whatever horrors that will bring, you should find him. Sasuke was the only thing that ever drove you, kid, and he will always be the only thing that drives you. It's pitiful, your love for the brat, but your bond extends beyond what I understand. You change one another's hearts. It's quite odd," Naruto's jaw had dropped during the kyuubi's ramblings and he found himself contemplating the words.

"L-love...? What are you saying?" Naruto stammered and Kurama stared deeply at him.

"You really were always an idiot, kid."

"What!? Hey! I don't-"

"That brat is your _soulmate_ , and by letting him leave without you you have abandoned him just as much as he has abandoned you - I'd always wondered what would have happened if you simply followed the Uchiha, away from this hellish town," Kurama's words were deep and meaningful, causing Naruto's very bones to shiver, "and for everyone's benefit, I think we should find out before he wakes up and obliterates this dimension..."

"What do you mean by 'wake up'...?" Naruto asked hesitantly and the fox smiled deviously.

"Ah, now that's a good question, kit," the blonde didn't know if he even believed the demon or not, but he was talking about Sasuke, and maybe that meant something, "just as I have been thrown into my vessel of the past - that being you - Sasuke Uchiha was, as well. Although, I believe that his soul has been suppressed inside of his younger body. Yet, I've seen parts of him break through, in moments of stress or trauma - did you not see the mangekyo in that desolate valley? Do you know how you get the mangekyo, kid? You lose one of the dearest people to you - odds are, by your own hands. This Uchiha; he has not yet achieved that. That is not his to manipulate."

"He killed Itachi," Naruto realized breathlessly and it made his chest hurt. In the future, Sasuke had lost yet another connection, and it pained him. The blonde's knees buckled on his watery pedestal and his blue eyes looked pleadingly at Kurama. He was beginning to believe him, "W-what happened...? In the future...?"

"I don't own your memories," the kyuubi spoke slowly, "let me remind you; you didn't make it," Naruto nodded mechanically, still not having fully recognized that fact yet, "the brat has not recalled his yet, maybe just fleeting feelings of deja-vu. But for you, kit, I'll summarize: For this disgusting village of yours, you perished. It was a foe you have no hope of conceiving at the moment... those explanations will come with time. But, Sasuke followed you to demise," Naruto felt a choke in his throat. Sasuke was with him. Sasuke had come home? "Don't get your hopes up; you weren't happy. Neither of you - you were Hokage, though," Kurama enjoyed the look of pained fascination on the jinchuriki's face, but Naruto was too shocked to even speak out, "You died a hero. A disgusting, selfless hero, the joy having long left your eyes. The Uchiha tried to save you. In the end," Naruto couldn't breathe, "he failed," the words crashed on him. Not because of their outcome, but because he knew Sasuke. If Sasuke had dedicated himself to something and did not achieve it... well, he had recently witnessed the repercussions of such a scenario. Naruto tried to summarize the facts in his head, but found that he felt dizzy and lost.

"Twenty years... is a long time..." he spoke quietly, feeling helpless, and heard Kurama sigh.

"Yes kit, for you humans it certainly is," he conceded and Naruto closed his eyes.

"I don't understand what I'm supposed to do with this," Naruto spoke bluntly and felt tears well in the corner of his eyes. He'd abandoned Sasuke, twenty years from now, going some place he couldn't reach. And he felt horrible. He felt like it was his fault, for not being strong enough. Something about the way the kyuubi described his future felt incomplete and he became anxious.

"You wanted to be Hokage so bad, kid," the Kurama offered idly and Naruto gazed up at him tearfully, "You became it. You weren't happy. You wanted those traitorous little shit villagers to acknowledge you. You got them to. You weren't happy. You achieved your dream, but it was at the price of your happiness," the kyuubi growled, truly wanting to reach the kid before him, "How about you chase something worthwhile this time, Naruto?"

"What's that?" Naruto's voice was small.

"Chase the fucking brat, kid!" the fox barked in frustration, annoyed by how the teen was acting.

"B-but... Konoha... and-"

"You've lived that once," Kurama growled once more and came as close to Naruto's face as he was allowed, "I'm telling you that Sasuke will not be alright when his puny little brain puts the pieces together, and you should be there to quell that storm..."

"Leave Konoha..."

"For now, kit, yes. Leave Konoha."

"Prove it," Naruto spoke lowly, a hardening in his eyes, "Prove to me that you're not lying," Kurama stared at the blonde then smirked.

"You asked; remember that," he spoke and then scenes started to flood the blonde's mind.

He saw he and Sasuke's fight at the valley replayed with minor differences, then he saw himself training with Jiraiya, out of control in a four-tailed form, then he saw himself, maybe a couple years older, fighting Orochimaru and batting Sakura aside. The scenes continued and he saw he and Sasuke standing in the very room that he stood now, talking to a bubbling form of the demon he spoke to currently. Seeing Sasuke... he knew it wasn't fabricated. Inside his heart, he just knew. The Sasuke in his mind's eye looked cold and detached, more-so than he was used to, and it made his chest hurt. The scenes began to blur and he caught images of various battles, all too hazy to really recount, then finally there was a scene and it felt like sound left his senses. He and Sasuke were aged, possibly in their thirties, and Naruto wore the Hokage's gear while Sasuke stood beside him in a white void. They looked battered and battle-ridden and Naruto had offered Sasuke a deeply pained look, grasping for the other's hand. Sasuke took it and had looked down with a somber expression. In a sudden movement, Sasuke had leaned down and placed his lips on his older self's forehead, mouth forming unreadable words and Naruto saw himself release a pained sob... then he was thrown away from the scene, back into the dripping cavern.

"I can only show you memories that I was intertwined with you for," the kyuubi provided and Naruto took a sharp intake of breath and felt his body being lowered to the ground once more.

"Memories..." Naruto spoke, a little brokenly, and realized that tears paved down his face. What a life he'd lived. So full of struggles and pain and tragedy. When he looked at that last memory, he'd barely recognized the men that he and Sasuke had become, "...Okay..." Kurama offered a hum, "...I believe you..." he looked up at the fox, wiping his face, "Sasuke doesn't remember...?" the demon nodded and Naruto felt almost glad. He didn't want him to remember. Sasuke would certainly become aware of more pain than Naruto had seen in his short glimpses, and if he were to remember then he wanted to be there for him. As the one person that would understand. But there was Konoha...

"You're not Hokage yet," Kurama offered, as if reading Naruto's mind, "They don't need you yet. They don't want you yet. But, they will. And I'm sure that when they truly require you, you will come running. It's who you are. But, trust me, if Sasuke remembers and you are not there to calm him... he will certainly destroy Konoha," the words felt heavy and he swallowed them like a bad pill.

"But... all my friends-"

"Naruto," the kyuubi sounded weary, "one day, they will hopefully understand. Let me tell you once more: Konoha does not need you yet. Sasuke needs you now," Sasuke needs me... played in his head like an mantra and he nodded slowly, "good... now wake up!"

And that was when he found himself in a hospital room.

* * *

"Naruto!" Sakura tried again when the blonde didn't respond the first time and his blue eyes finally drifted over to meet her own and he forced a grin on his face.

"Ah, Sakura!" he felt guilty. Guilty for failing her, and guilty for what he planned to do.

"I'm glad you're alright," she told him quietly and he nodded.

"Yeah..." a pregnant pause ensued and Naruto tried to think of something to say, but his mind was muddled from his inward experiences, "I'm sorry..." was what he managed. Sakura eyed him silently and a stray tear rolled down her cheek.

"I'll become strong," she told him and stood up, "I'll become strong," she continued and turned to walk to the door, glancing behind her before leaving, "I really am glad that you're alright," and then she departed. Naruto watched her with agonized eyes then closed them and bit his lip.

"I hope you do become strong, Sakura..." he whispered and opened his eyes when he felt another presence enter the room, "Kakashi," Naruto spoke and it came out gravely. The man ambled in the rest of the way, then plopped in Sakura's abandoned seat and sighed.

"I'm sorry I was too late," the man lamented and Naruto's brows furrowed.

"Sensei, that wasn't... that burden isn't..." Naruto tried to explain something that he, himself, didn't understand and Kakashi raised his visible brow.

"I am your teacher, Naruto," Kakashi told him with a kindness, "you three will always be my burden to carry," and the words felt like a knife, because Naruto already knew that yet another of his students would be gone soon. The tears welled fast and they rolled down his cheeks. Kakashi gazed at him sympathetically, and Naruto wondered what the man thought he was thinking, because he certainly couldn't be under the assumption that Naruto would soon be following Sasuke. "One day, Naruto, team seven will be complete, again," Kakashi's eye crinkled in a smile and Naruto sniffed loudly.

"Yeah," he agreed, because he wanted it to be true, "it will."

Night came too fast. Naruto wasn't nearly prepared for the fete that he was about to attempt, and now that he had made contact with the dual Kuramas in his head he couldn't seem to get them to shut up.

 _"You can't be sloppy, kit - this is the real deal, now..."_

 _"This kid is a bull in a china closet... this is hopeless"_

It had become easy to figure out the distinction between the two. Kurama's future counterpart was significantly more helpful then his own ruddy companion. Naruto dutifully ignored them as he laid in his hospital bed, staring out of the window. _Is this how it had been for Sasuke...?_ he wondered and frowned. Anxiety filled his gut and he slowly sat up, glancing around his room.

"Help me out, kyuubi-er-fox-erm...?"

" _Kurama_ " they both answered with an annoyance.

" _And no, if the ANBU sense an inkling of my chakra they'll come swarming_ ," future Kurama gritted balefully and Naruto felt his anxiety spike. So, he really was on his own, then. His blue eyes scanned the room once more. It was the dead of night, and no one was around. He wasn't supposed to be discharged for another few days, but his new found camaraderie with (at least one) Kurama found him mostly healed; at least enough to make a go at leaving.

Carefully, he rolled his blanket off himself and stepped a foot on the cold tile.

" _Leave a clone_ ," Kurama advised and Naruto scowled at the deceitfulness of the idea. It felt so... preconceived. With a dismayed sigh, Naruto wove through the motions and a clone popped up beside him in a puff of smoke. The blonde shushed his doppleganger and motioned for him to take his spot and just... sleep. The clone nodded and slid into the spot that Naruto vacated, humming happily in the warmth left behind. Naruto eyed the clone and scowled again. He felt like shit.

"Come on, Naruto..." he tried for a pep-talk, "suck it up. It's not forever," his words didn't convince him and he shook his head. Slowly, he unraveled his wraps and stuffed the bandages under the mattress to hide them. He looked down at his gown and grimaced, immediately looking for clothes to replace it with. He found some plain clothes meant for the guest's departure in a wardrobe on the other side of the room and slipped them on. It found him in grey pants and a black t-shirt. Probably better for an escape, anyway... but that didn't mean that he was giving up his orange. Nope. He would find a replacement. He wracked his mind about things he might need from his apartment, and wondered if it was worth the risk. Ramen immediately popped into his thoughts, but Kurama's growl quickly cut that pattern of cognition short.

He knew he wouldn't be able to stand the persecution if he got caught. Being such, he decided it was better to beeline out of town. Weapons. A mocking voice that reminded him of Sasuke's chided at him and he groaned. Yes, those would be at his apartment. Did he really have to go? The mental picture of his dwelling made him recall his picture of team seven. He wanted that. He wanted it so desperately it hurt. He clutched his hand on his shirt and felt Tsunade's necklace under the pads of his fingers and he was thankful for it. Another reminder of the life he was leaving. His eyes caught on a glint from the table beside the bed and they rested on a scratched forehead protector. _Sasuke's..._ he thought and reached for it, tucking it in the pocket of his pants.

" _I wouldn't go to your apartment_ ," Kurama's voice splintered his thoughts and he screwed up his face, about to ask why, "You didn't leave last time, but who knows if they posted guards there because of your stubborn ass and we just never found out," he reasoned and Naruto hated to admit that it was sound advice, " _If you really need traveling shit, why don't you scrounge it from somewhere else? Where wouldn't be watched right now? Somewhere that has already been abandoned..._ " it took Naruto a moment, but he felt a lightbulb blare in his mind.

"Sasuke's house!" he whispered to himself, proud at his deduction, then shuffled towards the window.

" _There are eyes in the shadows_ ," Kurama reminded him brutishly, " _I suggest you make yourself one of them_ ," he urged and Naruto felt another panic rise in his chest and fought the urge to hurl. He was really doing this... but he didn't have a clue when it came to clandestine, and he knew that. This was going to be... difficult. " _Focus, kid! I've seen you in your prime, you're certainly capable_!" at least that was an encouragement.

Naruto took a deep breath, looked back at his slumbering clone, then jumped out of the window and darted towards the cover of the alleyway. His heart was beating a mile a minute as he stood on the side of the wall, shrouded by darkness. He dared to open his eyes, and he say nothing. No shinobi running for him. No questioning nurses. So, he let out his breath and scurried along the wall silently, darting to the next alley. Then the next. Then the next. It felt like years before he'd reached to the edge of town where the Uchiha compound rested, ghostly silent. His blue eyes peered around before he sprinted from the alley to the next dark passage between two houses, then slowly, painstakingly, made his way to Sasuke's family home. He wanted to be fast, but not so hasty as to get clumsy. Finally, he propelled himself into an open window and rolled into his fall quietly. It was Sasuke's room. And it was empty. And it made him feel cold.

Naruto walked to the edge of the abandoned bed and ran his hand along the dark blanket. It wasn't even made. It was like Sasuke had just gone to the kitchen or restroom and would return shortly. His friend was always meticulous... so the unkeptness was odd. Even the rest of the room looked nearly ravaged in a haste to find useful things. Naruto's eyes roved over the space and he swallowed a lump in his throat. This was real. What he was doing was real. He shook his head and put on a determined face. His feet moved and he found himself grabbing at scattered shuriken and kunai, even a cloak the lay forgotten near the closet. Quickly, he hurled that on his shoulders. He was happy that Sasuke had left a few packs lying around, it made it easy to locate a leg pouch and a sack to throw on his back. When Naruto had finished gathering a smattering of sharp objects - less than he preferred, but that was all that was available - he decided that he needed to see what food options Sasuke had left.

In the kitchen, he felt a sense of dread impose on him. Sasuke was desperately healthy. He began opening cabinets and the only viable option he saw consisted of some protein bars. A suffering sigh emitted from his throat, but he shoved the food stuffs in his backpack anyway. Maundering back to Sasuke's room, he tried, and failed, to find a sleeping bag and bit his lip. _It's a little weird, isn't it...?_ he wondered as his cerulean eyes landed on Sasuke's bed; namely, the contents on it. Another sigh escaped him as he snatched at the blanket, rolled it up and shoved it in his pack. He debated the pillow, but reasoned that it would be too bulky and forewent it. At last, his eyes landed on the framed picture of team seven. His eyes studied their faces and he felt a fond grin grow on his features before it fell to something more sullen. Naruto grabbed at the picture, frame and all, and shoved it in the bag. _What else...? What else...?_

" _You're spending too long kid, you can't dawdle forever_!"

Naruto groaned at the kyuubi's intrusion but nodded and sighed once more.

"Alright, then...!" he spoke uncertainly. He pulled the hood on the traveling cape, and jumped out the window. His feet landed and his dread grew. He'd be walking the same path as Sasuke had, now. Naruto closed his eyes tightly before opening them with a determination. He'd set himself to it now. No turning back.

The blonde continued through the shadows until he reached the gate. How was he supposed to bypass that? He needed to allow himself time to get away, so he couldn't tip them off yet... How could...? Naruto huffed. He was unpredictable, right? Well now was a time to live up to his name. He fished out a shuriken from his leg pouch and created a clone swiftly. The two nodded at one another and Naruto pocketed the shuriken, shaping himself into the throwing star for his clone to chuck. The clone situated himself in a way that the weapon would slide just under the post barrier, out of sight, and threw it out of the gate and towards the woods. The clone's eyes darted to the guards, noticing that they looked just the same, and sighed in silent relief before disappearing. Naruto popped out of his transformation just as he breached the treeline and skid to a halt, glancing back with held breath. Nothing came after him. He was a free man. The thought made his lip tremble.

Naruto walked a little further into the wood, then stopped and stared at the moon. It enticed him, somehow. He hoped that maybe Sasuke was looking at the same moon, somewhere in the distance. His hands shakily came up to the tie of his forehead protector and un-knotted it. The cloth lined metal fell into his palms and he brought it down in front of him, clutching it with white knuckles. _I'll come back_. He promised it, to himself. With a jittery hand, he shoved it in his pocket, opposite of Sasuke's, but both weighing on him equally. Into the night, he kept on, running as fast as he could. Away from the life he knew. Away from his friends. Away from his dream. Away from Konoha.

Towards Sasuke.

* * *

 _Author's Note: I just spent waa~ay too long on a chapter title... Anyway, inspired by Amber Run. I bet this little twist threw a few of you for a loop, huh? Heehee_

 _Till next time~!_


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